Abstract
Background
Clinical as well as neurophysiological and neuroimaging data suggest that chronic
tinnitus resembles neuropsychiatric syndromes characterized by focal brain activation.
Low-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) has been proposed
as an efficient method in treating brain hyperexcitability disorders by reducing cortical
excitability.
Methods
In three patients suffering from chronic tinnitus, the effect of magnetic resonance
imaging and positron emission tomography guided neuronavigated 1 Hz rTMS on auditory
cortex activity was evaluated, using a sham controlled double-blind crossover design.
Results
Two of three patients revealed clearly increased metabolic activity in circumscript
areas of the primary auditory cortex (PAC), allowing a selective stimulation of these
cortical areas with low-frequency rTMS. Considerable improvement in tinnitus was achieved
in these patients.
Conclusions
Neuronavigated rTMS of increased PAC activity may help to better understand the neuronal
basis of chronic tinnitus and might offer a new option for treating auditory phantom
perceptions like chronic tinnitus.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Accepted:
November 7,
2002
Received in revised form:
November 4,
2002
Received:
August 22,
2002
Identification
Copyright
© 2003 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
