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Cortical Sulcus Depth Alterations in Patients with Tinnitus Before and After Sound Therapy: A Surface-Based Morphometry Study

Xuan Wei¹
¹Radiology, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China

Synopsis

Keywords: fMRI Analysis, Head & Neck/ENT

Motivation: This study aimed to explore alterations in brain surface-based morphometry sulcal depth in patients with idiopathic tinnitus before and after 24 weeks of sound therapy.

Goal(s): This study aimed to explore alterations in brain surface-based morphometry sulcal depth in patients with idiopathic tinnitus before and after 24 weeks of sound therapy.

Approach: Thirty-three tinnitus patients underwent magnetic resonance imaging scans at baseline and after 24 weeks of sound therapy.

Results: Compared to HCs, those in the tinnitus group at baseline had significantly lower sulcal depth in the left medial temporal cortex (MTC) and right somatosensory and motor cortex (SMC).

Impact: The remodeling of sulcal depth after sound therapy is an indicator for effective sound therapy.

Purpose

As one of the quantitative measures of the cerebral cortex, sulcal depth has been widely used in brain morphology research. This study aimed to explore alterations in brain surface-based morphometry sulcal depth in patients with idiopathic tinnitus before and after 24 weeks of sound therapy.

Methods

Thirty-three tinnitus patients underwent magnetic resonance imaging scans at baseline and after 24 weeks of sound therapy. Twenty-six age- and sex-matched healthy control (HC) individuals also underwent two scans over a 24-week interval. For all participants, 3.0T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and high-resolution 3D structural images were acquired with a 3D-BRAVO pulse sequence. Structural image data preprocessing was performed using the DPABISurf toolbox. Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI) scores were used to assess the severity of tinnitus before and after treatment. Two-way mixed model analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Pearson’s correlation analysis were used in the statistical analysis. Student-Newman-Keuls (SNK) tests were used in the post hoc analysis.

Results

Compared to HCs, those in the tinnitus group at baseline had significantly lower sulcal depth in the left medial temporal cortex (MTC) and right somatosensory and motor cortex (SMC). After 24 weeks of sound therapy, the tinnitus patients demonstrated significantly increased sulcal depth in the left MTC and right SMC. There were no significant differences in sulcal depth between the tinnitus patients after treatment and HCs. (Fig1-Fig.3)

Conclusions

The remodeling of sulcal depth after sound therapy is an indicator for effective sound therapy. These brain regions may serve as potential neuroimaging biomarkers for the evaluation of tinnitus treatment effects.

Acknowledgements

We especially thank Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, for their support with our research.

References

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Figures

Fig. 2 Post hoc analyses showed that the sulcal depth changed among the tinnitus baseline, 24-week sound treatment, HC baseline and HC 24-week groups in both hemispheres. *P < 0.05. Abbreviations: ANOVA: analysis of variance; HC: healthy control; SMC: somatosensory and motor cortex; MTC: medial temporal cortex.

Proc. Intl. Soc. Mag. Reson. Med. 32 (2024)

3161

DOI: https://doi.org/10.58530/2024/3161