Scientists Manipulate Plasticity Mechanism in DCN

[Stephen Hill]

I can't say I fully understand it, but this research from August this year by several leaders in the tinnitus field is certainly interesting. Building on Susan Shore's earlier research, it seems they have been able to successfully manipulate (in the lab) the plasticity mechanism in the Dorsal Cochlear Nucleus, which is believed to be a strong component of T. Clever stuff Whether it would work in us humans is, of course, another matter. They're taking it to the mice next.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26321928

 

[Jae]

I just love reading news about research development. At this rate, cure by 2020.

 

[Nucleo]

This is basically a paper about TENS paired with tones. Not exactly new.

 

[Briann]

@Nucleo do you know where else has this been done? Or are you saying that tones and TENS individually are not new?

 

[Nucleo]

@Nucleo do you know where else has this been done? Or are you saying that tones and TENS individually are not new?

Tones paired with nerve stimulation have been used conjointly in the past, without much success. TENS devices in general are not being able to stimulate the required nerves relevant to tinnitus activity.

There is a clinical trial going on right now:

https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01962558

The most novel thing about this paper is that they are looking at the DCN, and the possible involvement of somatosensory nerves.

 

[Nick Pyzik]

I found this article today. The way I read it, for people who think their tinnitus has disappeared over time, it's still there but the frontal lobe of their brain begins to be used more to compensate for this issue. What do you guys think?

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/12/151214145956.htm

 

[Cheza]

@Nick Pyzik
From the article:

Husain conducted a new fMRI study to see if there were any differences among tinnitus patients. Because some patients adjust to the ringing in the ears while others do not, the severity of the condition can vary greatly. Husain's team measured the severity of tinnitus, or tinnitus distress, with a series of surveys and questionnaires assessing hearing, attention, emotion and sleep.

Patients with lower tinnitus distress used an altered pathway to process emotional information. The path did not rely on the amygdala, commonly believed to play an important role in emotion processing in the brain. Instead, patients who had adapted to their tinnitus symptoms used more of the brain's frontal lobe, a region critical for attention, planning and impulse control. The researchers suggested that the greater activation of the frontal lobe might be helping to control emotional responses and reduce tinnitus distress.

This looks like something which correlates with the Back to Silence method espoused by @I who love music. The BTS method is a form of training whereby we label our emotional reactions, which I suppose labeling things is a function of the frontal lobe. In other words, the emotion is seated in the amygdala, but the frontal lobe assesses the emotion. Thus, the more we use the frontal lobe instead of being held hostage by the amygdala, the more tinnitus retreats into the background.

I really don't know. I'm just surmising. As for myself, I've been trying the BTS method for months and it hasn't made much difference with me. If it's loud, it's loud. If it's mild, it's mild. My tinnitus does whatever it wants and I seem to be unable to influence it whatsoever.

 

[monacco]

If it's loud, it's loud. If it's mild, it's mild

we can never habituate loud T

 

[dan]

Forget Dr.Shore.