gms | German Medical Science

79. Jahresversammlung der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Hals-Nasen-Ohren-Heilkunde, Kopf- und Hals-Chirurgie e. V.

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Hals-Nasen-Ohren-Heilkunde, Kopf- und Hals-Chirurgie e. V.

30.04. - 04.05.2008, Bonn

The influence of the limbic system in patients with chronic tinnitus

Meeting Abstract

  • corresponding author Katharina Rosengarth - Institut für Hals-Nasen-Ohrenheilkunde, Universität Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
  • Berthold Langguth - Institut für Psychiatrie, Universität Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
  • Michael Landgrebe - Institut für Psychiatrie, Universität Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
  • Göran Hajak - Institut für Psychiatrie, Universität Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
  • Veronika Vielsmeier - Institut für Hals-Nasen-Ohrenheilkunde, Universität Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
  • Tobias Kleinjung - Institut für Hals-Nasen-Ohrenheilkunde, Universität Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany

German Society of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, Head and Neck Surgery. 79th Annual Meeting of the German Society of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, Head and Neck Surgery. Bonn, 30.04.-04.05.2008. Düsseldorf, Köln: German Medical Science; 2008. Doc08hno10

Die elektronische Version dieses Artikels ist vollständig und ist verfügbar unter: http://www.egms.de/de/meetings/hno2008/08hno10.shtml

Veröffentlicht: 8. Juli 2008

© 2008 Rosengarth et al.
Dieser Artikel ist ein Open Access-Artikel und steht unter den Creative Commons Lizenzbedingungen (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/deed.de). Er darf vervielfältigt, verbreitet und öffentlich zugänglich gemacht werden, vorausgesetzt dass Autor und Quelle genannt werden.


Gliederung

Text

Introduction: The pathophysiology of chronic tinnitus is still not understood very well but there are hints in the literature that chronic tinnitus is associated with abnormal brain activity in auditory and limbic brain areas. The aim of this fMRI Study was to get a better insight in abnormal activation pattern of the limbic system in patients with chronic tinnitus.

Method: 12 patients with chronic tinnitus and 11 healthy control subjects took part in this study. All subjects had normal hearing und did not suffer from any psychiatric or neurologic disease.

Emotion induction was caused by presenting the subjects angry, fearful, happy and neutral Eckman faces. Fourier transformed images of those images where used as control condition.

To keep attention subjects had to perform a simple n-back task.

Results: Concerning processing of emotional faces compared to neutral faces the tinnitus group and the control group activated a similar network of areas which can be associated with perception of faces and emotional processing. A group comparison revealed more activation in the posterior cingulate and superior, medial and inferior temporal areas in the control group compared to the tinnitus group. There was also more activation in the fusiforme gyri, the parahippocampal gyri including Hippocampus and Amygdala, and the cerebellum.

Discussion: The decreased activation in the tinnitus group compared to the control group could be the consequent effect of a constant overactivation of the limbic system in this group which leads to an increased baseline activation.

The result of this study might provide new insights on the cooperation of the limbic system in the pathophysiology of tinnitus.