Current ATA-Funded Research

ATA is pleased to play an important role in funding some of the best and brightest researchers in the field. The following are currently conducting promising studies with the support of ATA grants.

New ATA-Funded Research
Current ATA-Funded Research
Past ATA-Funded Research
 

January 2008

Shaowen Bao, Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley, California
Research Project: Cortical Plasticity in Tinnitus
Funded: 1 year; $99,949

"Recent studies have revealed substantial changes in brain activity patterns in tinnitus patients and in animals with hearing loss. These brain activity changes, known as cortical plasticity, potentially produce hearing loss-induced tinnitus. It is still unclear, however, whether cortical plasticity actually causes tinnitus. In the lab, we will induce cortical plasticity that is similar to that seen in tinnitus patients, only without any accompanying hearing loss. If the plasticity induces tinnitus, then it is not just a side-effect of hearing loss."

Paul Finlayson, Ph.D., Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan
Research Project: Tinnitus and Hyperactivity in the Dorsal Cochlear Nucleus Fusiform Cells: Biophysical Changes
Funded: 1 year; $49,954

"The most common form of tinnitus develops after noise-induced trauma. Multiple changes in the brain occur following trauma due to intense sound exposure, including loss of cells, changes in the function of individual cells and in the communication between cells. This research will study the cellular changes affecting brain cell hyperactivity in the dorsal cochlear nucleus, which directly receives input from the auditory nerve. We will examine the movement of the ions that control the electrical activity in the cells. Determining how cells change, how their communication changes and why they become hyperactive is central to defining how these changes produce tinnitus and also help in developing possible tinnitus treatments."

William Martin, Ph.D., Oregon Hearing Research Center, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon
Research Project: Clinical Trial of Acamprosate for Tinnitus
Funded: 3 years; $73,829

"Acamprosate is a medication used to treat brain chemical imbalances that lead to alcohol addiction. This clinical trial will evaluate acamprosate to see if it can provide significant tinnitus relief for a subgroup of tinnitus patients. The study will further determine if there are patient-related factors (e.g., degree of hearing loss, duration of their tinnitus, depression, anxiety or insomnia) that we can use to predict whether or not acamprosate will be helpful for a specific patient. It will also help increase our understanding of the brain's role in tinnitus and improve future designs of new, effective treatments."

Kelvin M. Kwong, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan
Student Grant
Research Project: Mechanisms Underlying Acoustic Masking of Tinnitus
Funded: 1 year; $10,000

"Masking is commonly used to provide relief to tinnitus sufferers. Masking involves covering up the tinnitus with another sound. However, we do not yet sufficiently understand the process. The goal of this project is to determine the neural mechanisms underlying the relief of tinnitus from acoustic masking. We will measure activity in parts of the brain known to correlate with tinnitus perception. We will examine this brain activity before, during and after acoustic masking stimulation to determine if masking plays a role in changing tinnitus-related neural activity."

Daniel Stolzberg, State University of New York, Buffalo, New York
Student Grant
Research Project: Ensemble Spontaneous Activity in Tinnitus
Funded: 1 year, $10,000

"Modern theories of tinnitus point to the hearing areas of the brain as the generator of this phantom sound. Neurons are the cells of the brain which are in constant, rhythmic communication with one another. In tinnitus, neurons in hearing areas of the brain may lose this normal rhythm, generating a persistent miscommunication which emerges as a phantom sound. Additionally, anesthesia changes how neurons normally communicate. To address that problem, this project will utilize animals that are awake (not anesthetized) to investigate the changes in communication between both individual neurons and groups of neurons, and to determine why these communication changes generate tinnitus."

Pim Van Dijk, Ph.D., University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands
Research Project: Response of the Central Auditory System in Tinnitus and Hearing Loss, an fMRI Study
Funded: 1 year, $99,100

"Every sound we hear, including tinnitus, is related to some pattern of brain activity. Abnormal neural brain activity is the likely cause of tinnitus. This project will investigate brain patterns using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). An fMRI takes pictures of a brain’s activity, much as a video camera takes pictures of a body’s activity. We will compare hearing impaired patients with and without tinnitus to determine why some hearing impaired patients have tinnitus while others do not. We expect this to help clarify which brain activity patterns are specific to tinnitus."

PDF of the January 2008 grants.

July 2007

Richard Altschuler, Ph.D.
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
$99,917
Tinnitus Associated Changes in Excitatory Synaptic Strength and Intrinsic Properties in the Rat DCN

"Increased nerve activity in the hearing regions of the brain appears to cause central tinnitus (tinnitus generated by the central nervous system). Inhibitory chemicals normally prevent this rise in activity. Evidence demonstrates that a decrease in these chemicals causes a rise in nerve activity. Our study will examine whether glutamate, a chemical that increases (excites) brain activity, also plays a role. We will test whether the presence of persistent tinnitus changes the inherent properties of the ion channels that regulate nerve activity. If our research shows that changes in glutamate or ion channels are associated with central tinnitus, it will open the avenue to new methods of intervention for the treatment of tinnitus."

Dirk De Ridder, M.D., Ph.D.
University Hospital, Antwerp, Belgium
$96,668
A Method for Measuring Tinnitus and Tinnitus Intensity Objectively: an fMRI-EEG Study

"Our research will help develop objective diagnostic tests for tinnitus that are affordable, simple and quick. When a stimulus, such as a sound, becomes consciously perceived, brain waves oscillate at frequencies around 40 Hz. This is also called gamma band activity. This activity is present only during stimulation; when a sound wanes, so does the activity. If someone constantly perceives tinnitus, gamma band activity should be constantly present in the auditory cortex. Also, the louder the tinnitus, the more gamma band activity there might be. Using an electroencephalogram (EEG), we will look for gamma band measurements that objectively illustrate tinnitus presence and loudness. A second part of the study will look at brain activity using a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) machine, and try to correlate fMRI images to tinnitus presence and intensity. If we are able to objectively measure tinnitus, then we can use these same principles and technology to investigate tinnitus distress."

Didier A Depireux, Ph.D.
University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
$50,000
Targeting the Changes in Inferior Colliculus Induced by Tinnitus

"There is a strong correlation between tinnitus and altered neural activity in the inferior colliculus, a brain structure essential for sound perception. This makes the inferior colliculus a natural place to measure the effect that various tinnitus treatments might have. In a novel approach, we will measure neural activity in the inferior colliculus of animals before and after noise-induced trauma. We will also measure the changes in how an animal brain processes complex sounds such as speech and music before and after noise trauma. Lidocaine (a local anesthetic) can alleviate tinnitus, but it has serious side effects. We will perform the above experiments with intravenous Lidocaine to better understand its effect. This will provide important clues about why Lidocaine reduces tinnitus, and will help determine other pharmaceuticals that might similarly quiet tinnitus but with fewer side effects."

Edward Lobarinas, Ph.D.
State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York
$168,579
Brain Imaging of Salicylate and Noise-Induced Tinnitus in Rats

"Why do some people develop tinnitus while others exposed to the same conditions do not? Studies in humans have shown that brain activity in patients with tinnitus differs from the activity of patients who do not experience tinnitus. However, in these studies, scientists cannot control the event that started the tinnitus or look at how the tinnitus developed and changed over time. Research using animal models can control conditions, such as exposure to loud noise, that are often associated with the onset of tinnitus. We use these models to study how tinnitus develops and what conditions maintain it. This study will combine animal models of tinnitus with brain imaging. The goal is to understand how tinnitus starts and which areas of the brain change as tinnitus develops after exposure to loud noise or treatment with drugs known to generate tinnitus. We will evaluate brain activity in animals that show behavioral evidence of tinnitus using a brain scanner known as MicroPET. We hope to use this advanced imaging technology to study tinnitus and lay a foundation for advanced diagnosis and a potential method of evaluating effective tinnitus treatment strategies."

July 2007 funded research PDF