Real-time fMRI feedback training may improve chronic tinnitus
Real-time fMRI feedback training may improve chronic tinnitus
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DOI：
10.1007/s00330-009-1595-z
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发表时间：
2010-03-01
影响因子：
5.9
通讯作者：
Veit, Ralf
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Haller, Sven;Birbaumer, Niels;Veit, Ralf
耳鸣由或多或少恒定的厌恶音调或噪音组成，并与过度的听觉激活有关。这种激活的短暂扭曲（重复经颅磁刺激，rTMS）可能改善耳鸣。最近提出的实时功能磁共振成像（rtfMRI）神经反馈的操作训练允许随意修改特定的受限神经元激活。结合这些观察结果，我们研究了耳鸣患者是否可以(1)通过rtfMRI神经反馈学习自愿减少听觉系统的激活，以及(2)成功的学习是否可以改善耳鸣症状。包括6名慢性耳鸣患者。首先，在标准的fMRI听觉块设计定位器中确定个体听觉皮层的位置。然后，参与者接受训练，自愿减少听觉激活（rtfMRI）与当前听觉激活的视觉生物反馈。rtfMRI神经反馈后，听觉激活显著降低。这减少了6名参与者中2人的主观耳鸣。这些初步结果表明，耳鸣患者通过rtfMRI神经反馈学会自愿减少空间特异性听觉激活，这可能会减轻耳鸣症状。优化的训练方案（频率、持续时间等）可能会进一步改善结果。
Tinnitus consists of a more or less constant aversive tone or noise and is associated with excess auditory activation. Transient distortion of this activation (repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, rTMS) may improve tinnitus. Recently proposed operant training in real-time functional magnetic resonance imaging (rtfMRI) neurofeedback allows voluntary modification of specific circumscribed neuronal activations. Combining these observations, we investigated whether patients suffering from tinnitus can (1) learn to voluntarily reduce activation of the auditory system by rtfMRI neurofeedback and whether (2) successful learning improves tinnitus symptoms.Six participants with chronic tinnitus were included. First, location of the individual auditory cortex was determined in a standard fMRI auditory block-design localizer. Then, participants were trained to voluntarily reduce the auditory activation (rtfMRI) with visual biofeedback of the current auditory activation.Auditory activation significantly decreased after rtfMRI neurofeedback. This reduced the subjective tinnitus in two of six participants.These preliminary results suggest that tinnitus patients learn to voluntarily reduce spatially specific auditory activations by rtfMRI neurofeedback and that this may reduce tinnitus symptoms. Optimized training protocols (frequency, duration, etc.) may further improve the results.