Electrode implants reveal tinnitus’s manifestation in the brain

BBC : Tinnitus, the hearing of phantom sounds, may affect a larger area of the human brain than previously thought. The condition is often caused by noise-induced hearing loss or neurological damage. Until now, it was thought that only the hearing pathway was affected. Recently Phillip Gander of the University of Iowa and colleagues were able to gather much more extensive data on the condition by studying a man who had had electrodes planted on his brain to monitor his epilepsy. Through the use of those electrodes, the researchers were able to compare his brain activity when his tinnitus was loud with when it was quiet. They found that brain wave oscillations associated with tinnitus extended far beyond the sections of the brain involved with just hearing. The results are based on only one subject, but the researchers hope to be able to expand their study by gaining access to other patients undergoing similar electrode monitoring.