Acupuncture decreases amygdala functional connectivity in subjective tinnitus
IntroductionSubjective tinnitus is a common and intractable ear disease. The effectiveness of acupuncture in the treatment of subjective tinnitus has been confirmed, but its mechanism of action is not clear. The structures of the amygdala (AMYG) are mainly closely related to emotion in the human bra...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2022-12-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Neurology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fneur.2022.986805/full |
| _version_ | 1811213475316236288 |
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| author | Yating Zhang Bixiang Zha Haiping Shi Ling Cheng Yinqiu Fan Wanlin Zhang Zhihao Rong Zhaoxing Jin Nan Gao Jun Yang Qingping Zhang |
| author_facet | Yating Zhang Bixiang Zha Haiping Shi Ling Cheng Yinqiu Fan Wanlin Zhang Zhihao Rong Zhaoxing Jin Nan Gao Jun Yang Qingping Zhang |
| author_sort | Yating Zhang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | IntroductionSubjective tinnitus is a common and intractable ear disease. The effectiveness of acupuncture in the treatment of subjective tinnitus has been confirmed, but its mechanism of action is not clear. The structures of the amygdala (AMYG) are mainly closely related to emotion in the human brain. This study aimed to investigate the changes in functional connectivity (FC) of AMYG in subjective tinnitus to elucidate the neural mechanism of acupuncture.MethodsCorrelation scale scores of 26 patients with subjective tinnitus were collected, including Tinnitus Evaluation Questionnaire (TEQ), Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI) and Visual Analog Scale (VAS). Meanwhile, rs-fMRI data were collected before and after acupuncture treatment in the patients, and in healthy controls (HC) matching the patient's gender and age. Then, AMYG was selected as region of interest to perform FC analysis. Finally, FC patterns of AMYG were first compared between patients with subjective tinnitus and HC, and then within subjects pre-acupuncture and post-acupuncture. Simple linear regression models between correlation scale scores and FC-values were established as well.ResultsAcupuncture treatment relieved the severity of tinnitus. With the acupuncture treatment, the total THI score, TEQ score, and VSA score of patients were significantly lower than before (p < 0.05). Compared with HC, FC of tinnitus patients between AMYG and right inferior temporal gyrus and right precuneus significantly decreased before acupuncture (voxel p < 0.001, cluster p < 0.05, corrected with GRF), while FC of tinnitus patients between AMYG and left superior frontal gyrus and right superior temporal gyrus significantly decreased after acupuncture treatment (voxel p < 0.001, cluster p < 0.05, corrected with GRF). FC of tinnitus patients between the AMYG and right superior frontal gyrus and left paracingulate gyrus showed significant decrease after acupuncture treatment (voxel p < 0.001, cluster p < 0.05, corrected with GRF). Besides, the linear regression models of the effect of THI on FC and VAS on FC performed were statistically significant (p < 0.05).DiscussionThe findings demonstrate that acupuncture can decrease FC of AMYG, which could be positively correlated with the relief of tinnitus symptoms. This result suggests that acupuncture stimulation can effectively relieve the severity of tinnitus by decreasing FC of AMYG in subjective tinnitus patients. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T05:47:22Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2ccba0b2be0b407482108d70026cca8a |
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| issn | 1664-2295 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T05:47:22Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
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| series | Frontiers in Neurology |
| spelling | doaj.art-2ccba0b2be0b407482108d70026cca8a2022-12-22T03:45:25ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Neurology1664-22952022-12-011310.3389/fneur.2022.986805986805Acupuncture decreases amygdala functional connectivity in subjective tinnitusYating Zhang0Bixiang Zha1Haiping Shi2Ling Cheng3Yinqiu Fan4Wanlin Zhang5Zhihao Rong6Zhaoxing Jin7Nan Gao8Jun Yang9Qingping Zhang10The First School of Clinical Medicine, Anhui University of Chinese Medicine, Hefei, ChinaFirst Affiliated Hospital of Anhui University of Chinese Medicine, Hefei, ChinaFirst Affiliated Hospital of Anhui University of Chinese Medicine, Hefei, ChinaSchool of Humanity and International Education and Exchange, Anhui University of Chinese Medicine, Hefei, ChinaFirst Affiliated Hospital of Anhui University of Chinese Medicine, Hefei, ChinaThe First School of Clinical Medicine, Anhui University of Chinese Medicine, Hefei, ChinaThe First School of Clinical Medicine, Anhui University of Chinese Medicine, Hefei, ChinaWest China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, ChinaCenter for Biomedical Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, ChinaFirst Affiliated Hospital of Anhui University of Chinese Medicine, Hefei, ChinaSchool of Acupuncture and Massage, Anhui University of Chinese Medicine, Hefei, ChinaIntroductionSubjective tinnitus is a common and intractable ear disease. The effectiveness of acupuncture in the treatment of subjective tinnitus has been confirmed, but its mechanism of action is not clear. The structures of the amygdala (AMYG) are mainly closely related to emotion in the human brain. This study aimed to investigate the changes in functional connectivity (FC) of AMYG in subjective tinnitus to elucidate the neural mechanism of acupuncture.MethodsCorrelation scale scores of 26 patients with subjective tinnitus were collected, including Tinnitus Evaluation Questionnaire (TEQ), Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI) and Visual Analog Scale (VAS). Meanwhile, rs-fMRI data were collected before and after acupuncture treatment in the patients, and in healthy controls (HC) matching the patient's gender and age. Then, AMYG was selected as region of interest to perform FC analysis. Finally, FC patterns of AMYG were first compared between patients with subjective tinnitus and HC, and then within subjects pre-acupuncture and post-acupuncture. Simple linear regression models between correlation scale scores and FC-values were established as well.ResultsAcupuncture treatment relieved the severity of tinnitus. With the acupuncture treatment, the total THI score, TEQ score, and VSA score of patients were significantly lower than before (p < 0.05). Compared with HC, FC of tinnitus patients between AMYG and right inferior temporal gyrus and right precuneus significantly decreased before acupuncture (voxel p < 0.001, cluster p < 0.05, corrected with GRF), while FC of tinnitus patients between AMYG and left superior frontal gyrus and right superior temporal gyrus significantly decreased after acupuncture treatment (voxel p < 0.001, cluster p < 0.05, corrected with GRF). FC of tinnitus patients between the AMYG and right superior frontal gyrus and left paracingulate gyrus showed significant decrease after acupuncture treatment (voxel p < 0.001, cluster p < 0.05, corrected with GRF). Besides, the linear regression models of the effect of THI on FC and VAS on FC performed were statistically significant (p < 0.05).DiscussionThe findings demonstrate that acupuncture can decrease FC of AMYG, which could be positively correlated with the relief of tinnitus symptoms. This result suggests that acupuncture stimulation can effectively relieve the severity of tinnitus by decreasing FC of AMYG in subjective tinnitus patients.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fneur.2022.986805/fullacupuncturesubjective tinnitusfunctional magnetic resonance imagingfunctional connectivityamygdala |
| spellingShingle | Yating Zhang Bixiang Zha Haiping Shi Ling Cheng Yinqiu Fan Wanlin Zhang Zhihao Rong Zhaoxing Jin Nan Gao Jun Yang Qingping Zhang Acupuncture decreases amygdala functional connectivity in subjective tinnitus Frontiers in Neurology acupuncture subjective tinnitus functional magnetic resonance imaging functional connectivity amygdala |
| title | Acupuncture decreases amygdala functional connectivity in subjective tinnitus |
| title_full | Acupuncture decreases amygdala functional connectivity in subjective tinnitus |
| title_fullStr | Acupuncture decreases amygdala functional connectivity in subjective tinnitus |
| title_full_unstemmed | Acupuncture decreases amygdala functional connectivity in subjective tinnitus |
| title_short | Acupuncture decreases amygdala functional connectivity in subjective tinnitus |
| title_sort | acupuncture decreases amygdala functional connectivity in subjective tinnitus |
| topic | acupuncture subjective tinnitus functional magnetic resonance imaging functional connectivity amygdala |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fneur.2022.986805/full |
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