New imaging techniques to analyse human brains: are there differences in tinnitus patients?

This innovative PhD studentship project, to be supervised by Professor Deb Hall at Nottingham Trent University and the <a href="http://www.hearing.nihr.ac.uk/" target="_blank" title="NIHR National Biomedical Research Unit for Hearing">NIHR National Biomedical Research Unit for Hearing</a> , aims to identify differences in brain activity in people with tinnitus compared to those who don&rsquo;t.

One in seven UK adults have experienced tinnitus in their lives and, of those who do, about 40% claim that it has a negative effect on their personal relationships and work life. Presently, there is no link between the cause of tinnitus and the clinical symptoms of distress. Human brain imaging offers the benefit of an objective tool for assessing this link and for identifying possible targets for effective treatment. These outcomes will improve the clinical management of tinnitus.

The student will have access to some of the UK’s most modern medical imaging facilities (called ‘EEG’ and ‘fMRI’) across two universities. The resulting brain data will be analysed using a range of innovative computational methods.

In recent years there has been increasing interest in the activity of the human brain at ‘rest’. Several key theories have linked tinnitus to an abnormal pattern of activity during this resting state. The Nottingham group aims to systematically investigate this claim in people with chronic tinnitus by carefully studying the hearing and emotional centres of the brain. They will test the hypothesis that tinnitus is underpinned by specific imbalances in the brain’s resting-state activity and also examine the connections between brain regions engaged in this activity to understand whether tinnitus is maintained by maladaptive links between sound and emotional processing.

‘We are very pleased to have been awarded this studentship to enable us to progress our imaging research into tinnitus and to have an opportunity to train a young researcher in this field’ says Professor Hall.  The studentship is due to start in October 2011.

Deafness Research UK PhD studentship scheme

The Deafness Research UK PhD studentship scheme is designed to encourage new and highly qualified graduates to embark on a career in deafness, hearing or tinnitus research in the UK, see more at http://www.deafnessresearch.org.uk/5301/types-of-award/phd-studentship-scheme.html

Last updated on 22nd December 2011
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