Aberrant cerebral blood flow in tinnitus patients with migraine: a perfusion functional MRI study

Purpose: Migraine is often accompanied with chronic tinnitus that will affect the cerebral blood flow (CBF) and exacerbate the tinnitus distress. However, the potential relationship between migraine and tinnitus remains unclear. This study will investigate whether aberrant CBF patterns exist in migraine patients with tinnitus and examine the influence of migraine on CBF alterations in chronic tinnitus.

Materials and methods: Participants included chronic tinnitus patients (n = 45) and non-tinnitus controls (n = 50), matched for age, sex, education, and hearing thresholds. CBF images were collected and analyzed using arterial spin labeling (ASL) perfusion functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Regions with major CBF differences between tinnitus patients and non-tinnitus controls were first detected. The effects of migraine on tinnitus for CBF alterations were further examined. Correlation analyses illustrated the association between CBF values and tinnitus severity as well as between CBF and severity of migraine.

Results: Compared with non-tinnitus controls, chronic tinnitus patients without migraine exhibited decreased CBF, primarily in right superior temporal gyrus (STG), bilateral middle frontal gyrus (MFG), and left superior frontal gyrus (SFG); decreased CBF in these regions was correlated with tinnitus distress. There was a significant effect of migraine on tinnitus for CBF in right STG and MFG. Moreover, the severity of migraine correlated negatively with CBF in tinnitus patients.

Conclusions: Chronic tinnitus patients exhibited reduced CBF in the auditory and prefrontal cortex. Migraine may facilitate a CBF decrease in the setting of tinnitus, which may underlie the neuropathological mechanisms of chronic tinnitus comorbid with migraine.