People with Tinnitus Have More Grey Matter

Tinnitus is rooted in a network of brain areas and people who suffer from tinnitus have more gray matter , according to research by the Belgian scientist Kris Boyen at the University of Groningen .

More and more young people suffer from tinnitus , often due to loud music , stands in a communication from the research institution .

MRI studies

Graduated in Speech and Hearing Therapy at the Catholic University of Leuven did Kris Boyen for her thesis at the Dutch university MRI studies in people with tinnitus . They examined both the structures in the brains , and the functions of brain areas .

processing information

It found that tinnitus patients have more gray matter in the auditory cortex , but also in other areas of the brain . The gray mass is responsible for the processing of information.

Boyen also provided a link between having tinnitus and abnormal functioning of the thalamus ( part of the brains comprising between nerve nuclei ) .

abnormal thalamic

In a first study , the researcher found a weaker functional connection between the auditory cortex and the brainstem . In a subsequent study, they could not find a loudness -dependent activation in the thalamus , but in the auditory cortex and the brainstem . Both results can be interpreted as the abnormal functioning of the thalamus in tinnitus patients .

According Boyen , the results of the research scientists one step closer to understanding the origin of tinnitus . The Belgian PhD Friday .

--------dutch version--------------

Oorsuizen is geworteld in een netwerk van hersengebieden en mensen die aan tinnitus lijden hebben meer grijze massa, zo blijkt uit onderzoek van de Belgische wetenschapster Kris Boyen aan de Universiteit van Groningen.

Steeds meer jonge mensen hebben last van oorsuizen, vaak als gevolg van luide muziek, staat in een mededeling van de onderzoeksinstelling.

MRI-studies
Afgestudeerd in de Logopedische en Audiologische wetenschappen aan de Katholieke Universiteit Leuven deed Kris Boyen voor haar proefschrift aan de Nederlandse universiteit MRI-studies bij mensen met tinnitus. Zij onderzocht zowel de structuren in de hersenen, als de functies van hersengebieden.

Verwerking informatie
Zij stelde vast dat tinnituspatiënten meer grijze massa hebben in de auditieve hersenschors, maar ook in andere gebieden van het brein. De grijze massa is verantwoordelijk voor de verwerking van informatie.

Boyen legde ook een band tussen het hebben van tinnitus en het abnormaal functioneren van de thalamus (gedeelte van de tussenhersenen bestaande uit zenuwkernen).

Abnormale thalamus
In een eerste studie vond de promovendus een zwakkere functionele verbinding tussen de auditieve hersenschors en de hersenstam. In een vervolgstudie kon ze geen luidheidsafhankelijke activatie in de thalamus vinden, maar wel in de auditieve hersenschors en de hersenstam. Beide resultaten kunnen geïnterpreteerd worden als het abnormaal functioneren van de thalamus bij tinnituspatiënten.

Volgens Boyen brengen de resultaten van het onderzoek wetenschappers een stap dichter bij begrip van het ontstaan van oorsuizen. De Belgische promoveert vrijdag.

 

That explains why the typical candidate is highly educated..

 

I would gladly trade my grey matter for silence.

 

this can be a reason. but... if i oversimplify, maybe people who are less educated will be less bothered by tinnitus and are harder to reach ... idk

 

Quality usually trumps quantity, right?...

 

yes because they think that its a noise from higher powers

 

very interesting Nills, thank you!

 

Makes me wish we lived in 2115 or 2215 where tinnitus was equivalent to a cut on the finger. Got head noise do ya? Just fly your car over to your local walmart and buy some noise killers. Silence guaranteed within a half hour.

 

Well you're kind of right. Look at this page http://www.ranker.com/list/famous-people-with-tinnitus/celebrity-lists?page=7

Look at Martin Luther. It says "Martin Luther viewed his tinnitus as an attack of the devil."

 

Well, we can dream lol....It'll be just like taking a painkiller for an headache.

 

One might opt for freezing oneself and hope to be revived in that kind of era.

 

I wish I could do that! It'll be like Futurama.

 

That would have been awsome!

 

Yeah, who wants tinnitus for more grey matter! I don't!

 

Ok, lets scratch Am-101, autifony, atoh1 and make some new drugs. Trial fase one starts at year 3015.
Unless a new finding till then tells us otherwise...

Just to be clear: The HIFU surgery gains credit here?

 

Fu*k, I thought about that last night! I wish they could put me in a coma until a cure has been discovered.

 

Yes! Honestly, I think HIFU is the only treatment with potential here; now. All those meds won't resolve anything.

 

Well it depends greatly on what type of T you have. If you read the posts by @attheedgeofscience in the HIFU thread you will see that it can only treat specific type of T.

 

What is it?

 

I keep betting it is the regeneration of hair cells or a stem therapy for them. HIFU does no trials for T and I doubt they will ever attempt to treat anyone with those prices and no guarantee of success. So, I cannot place them at present. If you also count their time lines with only 1 machine, I bet other treatments will immerse by the time they realize what exactly they can do.

It is unacceptable to expect to get paid all that money not really knowing what they offer to a tinnitus patient.

 

Other studies I've seen have shown reduced gray matter in some structures in tinnitus sufferers. Specifically I remember that for people with high tinnitus distress, the right anterior insula shows a reduced volume.

Interestingly, the right anterior insula shows an increased volume, among meditators with > 10 years experience sitting.

 

So am I smarter now, or stupider?

 

I'd say neither. I don't think there's a direct correlation between gray matter and intelligence; the way the matter is organized appears to be a lot more significant. Otherwise, whales would have developed quantum computers long ago...

 

Hahaha brilliant!

 

Not only more grey metter but also too much "free serotonin" in the blood: http://www.tinnitusjournal.com/detalhe_artigo.asp?id=251

Probably this could be the reason of the tinnitus improvement in some patients who use SSRI. Don't kill me please for this. I hate ssri and benzos

 

I highly question that. Unless we're speaking about pulsatile T, then yes HIFU would be next to useless there are other treatments for that kind of T.
Make no mistake, if your T is in the brain (auditory cortex) they can fry those neurons! That's the basic thing the ExAblate® 4000 goes. At least that's what they do claim. Of course, in ATEOS's case that meant some hearing loss, which he did not want to have at all. If I were him, I'd have done it. I do not care about the risks. If I end up being deaf (on one ear) but T gone I'm good with that. Mind you, I do consider suicide here.

~

That's why I say we, as a collective, need to initiate the cinical trial with HIFU on T. That's the only way to get that going.

If HIFU works for T, all those other treatments and organizations about T are rendered a hole in the wall.

Totally agree with you! That's why I wonder, do they really know what they are doing or is it still all just trial and error. And therefore they charge get-lucky-appointment ridiculous prices.

 

Hey there - when and where is this from, is there a link?

 

Well...I wanted to be at least smarter by having tinnitus...

 

This article seems to tell the opposite :

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006899317305073


Changes in gray and white matter in subgroups within the tinnitus population

• Sara A. Schmidta, , ,
• Benjamin Zimmermana, b, d, ,
• Richard O. Bido Medinaa, d, ,
• Jake R. Carpenter-Thompsona, c, ,
• Fatima T. Husaina, b, d,

Highlights
- Tinnitus subgroups exhibit differential gray matter alterations.
- Bothersome tinnitus showed decreased cortical thickness in left parahippocampal gyrus.
- Mild tinnitus showed reduced gray matter volume in left anterior cingulate.
- No white matter changes for any subgroup were noted.
Abstract
In this study, we investigated gray and white matter changes in subgroups within the larger tinnitus population related to differences in severity or duration of tinnitus symptoms. Tinnitus is the illusory perception of sound in the absence of an external source, most often experienced as a chronic condition. The psychological reaction to the sound constitutes the severity, or degree of discomfort experienced, and the duration refers to the time since onset of chronic tinnitus. We used voxel- and surface-based morphometry to investigate gray matter changes and diffusion tensor imaging (using fractional anisotropy, or FA, metrics) to assess changes in orientation of white matter tracts, using both whole brain and region of interest analyses. Whole brain analyses revealed decreased cortical thickness in the left parahippocampal gyrus in those with more severe tinnitus compared to a group with a milder reaction, and reduced gray matter volume in left anterior cingulate in those with mild tinnitus compared to a normal hearing control group without tinnitus. In the analysis based on FA, no significant differences were revealed between the subgroups or with respect to control groups in either whole brain or region of interest analyses. Our results suggest that these subgroups within the tinnitus population likely exhibit different anatomical alterations related to the disorder, which may explain the variable findings in the literature, particularly in terms of gray matter.

Keywords

• Tinnitus subgroups;
• Tinnitus severity;
• VBM;
• DTI;
• Anterior cingulate;
• Parahippocampus

 

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006899317305073

This is probably true. The following is from my neuro doctor in regards to this subject matter. For those with tinnitus including severe tinnitus - thinking about "will I habituate" isn't advised. Research the parts of the brains in this link, and see the connections. Expectation thinking is a process that takes place in these parts of the brain.

He believes that "mindfulness" a form of the outer edge of CBT which is also mentioned by one of the doctor's in the doctor's corner should be used. This process is also about not blaming what caused one's tinnitus. Chances are there's several weak links in one's body and that goes beyond just hair cells.

Some with tinnitus wish that they could be involved in activities such as outdoor activities as friends that do not have tinnitus. When you go to bed at night place yourself in safe mode, that's a survival mode. Think about watching a professional sports game. I often place myself in a safe building deep in the woods. I design the building and contents to my liking. There's medical rooms, doctors and others.

Do what you can for your condition, but do some stuff like a warm compress before going to bed. Retraining your brain starts with using mindfulness before falling asleep.