Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Comparing immediate transient tinnitus suppression using tACS and tDCS: a placebo-controlled study

  • Research Article
  • Published:
Experimental Brain Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Tinnitus is an auditory phantom percept with a tone, hissing, or buzzing sound in the absence of any objective physical sound source. Two forms of low-intensity cranial electrical stimulation exist for clinical and research purposes: transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS). In a recent study, it was demonstrated that a single session of tDCS over the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) (anode over right DLPFC) yields a transient improvement in subjects with chronic tinnitus and that repeated sessions can possibly be used as a treatment. In the present study, the effect of a single-session individual alpha–modulated tACS and tDCS applied at the DLPFC bilaterally is compared with tinnitus loudness and tinnitus annoyance. A total of fifty tinnitus patients were selected and randomly assigned to the tACS or tDCS treatment. Our main result was that bifrontal tDCS modulates tinnitus annoyance and tinnitus loudness, whereas individual alpha-modulated tACS does not yield a similar result. This study provides additional insights into the role of DLPFC in tinnitus modulation as well as the intersection between tinnitus and affective/attentional processing.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Antal A, Kincses TZ, Nitsche MA, Bartfai O, Paulus W (2004) Excitability changes induced in the human primary visual cortex by transcranial direct current stimulation: direct electrophysiological evidence. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 45:702–707

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Axelsson A, Ringdahl A (1989) Tinnitus—a study of its prevalence and characteristics. Br J Audiol 23:53–62. doi:10.3109/03005368909077819

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Basar E, Basar-Eroglu C, Karakas S, Schurmann M (2001) Gamma, alpha, delta, and theta oscillations govern cognitive processes. Int J Psychophysiol 39:241–248

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Beard AW (1965) Results of leucotomy operations for tinnitus. J Psychosom Res 9:29–32

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Beeli G, Casutt G, Baumgartner T, Jancke L (2008) Modulating presence and impulsiveness by external stimulation of the brain. Behav Brain Funct 4:33. doi:10.1186/1744-9081-4-33

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bodner M, Kroger J, Fuster JM (1996) Auditory memory cells in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. NeuroReport 7:1905–1908

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Congedo M (2002) EureKa! (Version 3.0) [Computer Software]. NovaTech EEG Inc, Knoxville, TN. http://www.NovaTechEEG

  • De Ridder D, Elgoyhen AB, Romo R, Langguth B (2011) Phantom percepts: tinnitus and pain as persisting aversive memory networks. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 108:8075–8080. doi:10.1073/pnas.1018466108

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • De Ridder D, Song JJ, Vanneste S (2012a) Frontal cortex TMS for tinnitus. Brain Stimul. doi:10.1016/j.brs.2012.07.002

    Google Scholar 

  • De Ridder D, Vanneste S, Freeman W (2012b) The Bayesian brain: phantom percepts resolve sensory uncertainty. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2012.04.001

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • De Ridder D, Vanneste S, Plazier M, Menovsky T, van de Heyning P, Kovacs S, Sunaert S (2012c) Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex transcranial magnetic stimulation and electrode implant for intractable tinnitus. World Neurosurg 77:778–784. doi:10.1016/j.wneu.2011.09.009

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dymond AM, Coger RW, Serafetinides EA (1975) Intracerebral current levels in man during electrosleep therapy. Biol Psychiatry 10:101–104

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Eggermont JJ, Roberts LE (2004) The neuroscience of tinnitus. Trends Neurosci 27:676–682. doi:10.1016/j.tins.2004.08.010

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Faber M, Vanneste S, Fregni F, De Ridder D (2011) Top down prefrontal affective modulation of tinnitus with multiple sessions of tDCS of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Brain Stimul. doi:10.1016/j.brs.2011.09.003

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Frank E, Schecklmann M, Landgrebe M et al (2011) Treatment of chronic tinnitus with repeated sessions of prefrontal transcranial direct current stimulation: outcomes from an open-label pilot study. J Neurol. doi:10.1007/s00415-011-6189-4

    Google Scholar 

  • Fregni F, Boggio PS, Nitsche MA, Marcolin MA, Rigonatti SP, Pascual-Leone A (2006a) Treatment of major depression with transcranial direct current stimulation. Bipolar Disord 8:203–204. doi:10.1111/j.1399-5618.2006.00291.x

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fregni F, Boggio PS, Nitsche MA, Rigonatti SP, Pascual-Leone A (2006b) Cognitive effects of repeated sessions of transcranial direct current stimulation in patients with depression. Depress Anxiety 23:482–484. doi:10.1002/da.20201

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fregni F, Marcondes R, Boggio PS et al (2006c) Transient tinnitus suppression induced by repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation and transcranial direct current stimulation. Eur J Neurol 13:996–1001. doi:10.1111/j.1468-1331.2006.01414.x

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • George MS, Aston-Jones G (2010) Noninvasive techniques for probing neurocircuitry and treating illness: vagus nerve stimulation (VNS), transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). Neuropsychopharmacology 35:301–316. doi:10.1038/npp.2009.87

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gray JR, Braver TS, Raichle ME (2002) Integration of emotion and cognition in the lateral prefrontal cortex. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 99:4115–4120

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jastreboff PJ (1990) Phantom auditory perception (tinnitus): mechanisms of generation and perception. Neurosci Res 8:221–254

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kanai R, Paulus W, Walsh V (2010) Transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) modulates cortical excitability as assessed by TMS-induced phosphene thresholds. Clin Neurophysiol 121:1551–1554. doi:10.1016/j.clinph.2010.03.022

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kleinjung T, Eichhammer P, Landgrebe M et al (2008) Combined temporal and prefrontal transcranial magnetic stimulation for tinnitus treatment: a pilot study. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 138:497–501. doi:10.1016/j.otohns.2007.12.022

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Klimesch W, Doppelmayr M, Schwaiger J, Auinger P, Winkler T (1999) ‘Paradoxical’ alpha synchronization in a memory task. Brain Res Cogn Brain Res 7:493–501

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Knight RT, Scabini D, Woods DL (1989) Prefrontal cortex gating of auditory transmission in humans. Brain Res 504:338–342

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lorenz J, Minoshima S, Casey KL (2003) Keeping pain out of mind: the role of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in pain modulation. Brain 126:1079–1091

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lorenz I, Muller N, Schlee W, Hartmann T, Weisz N (2009) Loss of alpha power is related to increased gamma synchronization-A marker of reduced inhibition in tinnitus? Neurosci Lett 453:225–228. doi:10.1016/j.neulet.2009.02.028

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Miranda PC, Lomarev M, Hallett M (2006) Modeling the current distribution during transcranial direct current stimulation. Clin Neurophysiol 117:1623–1629. doi:10.1016/j.clinph.2006.04.009

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mitchell TV, Morey RA, Inan S, Belger A (2005) Functional magnetic resonance imaging measure of automatic and controlled auditory processing. NeuroReport 16:457–461

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Muhlnickel W, Elbert T, Taub E, Flor H (1998) Reorganization of auditory cortex in tinnitus. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 95:10340–10343

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nitsche MA, Liebetanz D, Lang N, Antal A, Tergau F, Paulus W (2003) Safety criteria for transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) in humans. Clin Neurophysiol 114:2220–2222 (author reply 2222–2223)

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nitsche MA, Cohen LG, Wassermann EM et al (2008) Transcranial direct current stimulation: state of the art 2008. Brain Stimul 1:206–223. doi:10.1016/j.brs.2008.06.004

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Norena A, Cransac H, Chery-Croze S (1999) Towards an objectification by classification of tinnitus. Clin Neurophysiol 110:666–675

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Plazier M, Joos K, Vanneste S, Ost J, De Ridder D (2011) Bifrontal and bioccipital transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) does not induce mood changes in healthy volunteers: a placebo controlled study. Brain Stimul. doi:10.1016/j.brs.2011.07.005

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Scott B, Lindberg P (2000) Psychological profile and somatic complaints between help-seeking and non-help-seeking tinnitus subjects. Psychosomatics 41:347–352

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Thut G, Pascual-Leone A (2010) A review of combined TMS-EEG studies to characterize lasting effects of repetitive TMS and assess their usefulness in cognitive and clinical neuroscience. Brain Topogr 22:219–232. doi:10.1007/s10548-009-0115-4

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Vanneste S, De Ridder D (2011) Bifrontal transcranial direct current stimulation modulates tinnitus intensity and tinnitus-distress-related brain activity. Eur J Neurosci 34:605–614. doi:10.1111/j.1460-9568.2011.07778.x

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Vanneste S, De Ridder D (2012) The auditory and non-auditory brain areas involved in tinnitus. An emergent property of multiple parallel overlapping subnetworks. Front Syst Neurosci 6:31. doi:10.3389/fnsys.2012.00031

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Vanneste S, Plazier M, der Loo E, de Heyning PV, Congedo M, De Ridder D (2010a) The neural correlates of tinnitus-related distress. Neuroimage 52:470–480. doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2010.04.029

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Vanneste S, Plazier M, Ost J, van der Loo E, Van de Heyning P, De Ridder D (2010b) Bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex modulation for tinnitus by transcranial direct current stimulation: a preliminary clinical study. Exp Brain Res 202:779–785. doi:10.1007/s00221-010-2183-9

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Vanneste S, Focquaert F, Van de Heyning P, De Ridder D (2011a) Different resting state brain activity and functional connectivity in patients who respond and not respond to bifrontal tDCS for tinnitus suppression. Exp Brain Res 210:217–227. doi:10.1007/s00221-011-2617-z

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Vanneste S, Langguth B, De Ridder D (2011b) Do tDCS and TMS influence tinnitus transiently via a direct cortical and indirect somatosensory modulating effect? A combined TMS-tDCS and TENS study. Brain Stimul 4:242–252. doi:10.1016/j.brs.2010.12.001

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Voisin J, Bidet-Caulet A, Bertrand O, Fonlupt P (2006) Listening in silence activates auditory areas: a functional magnetic resonance imaging study. J Neurosci 26:273–278. doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2967-05.2006

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Weisz N, Hartmann T, Muller N, Lorenz I, Obleser J (2011) Alpha rhythms in audition: cognitive and clinical perspectives. Front Psychol 2:73. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2011.00073

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zaehle T, Rach S, Herrmann CS (2010) Transcranial alternating current stimulation enhances individual alpha activity in human EEG. PLoS ONE 5:e13766. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0013766

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zaghi S, de Freitas Rezende L, de Oliveira LM, El-Nazer R, Menning S, Tadini L, Fregni F (2010) Inhibition of motor cortex excitability with 15 Hz transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS). Neurosci Lett 479:211–214. doi:10.1016/j.neulet.2010.05.060

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors received funds from Research Foundation Flanders (FWO), the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF), Tinnitus Research Initiative (TRI), and Royal Society Industry Fellowship (VW).

Conflict of interest

None.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Brai²n, TRI and Department of Neurosurgery, University Hospital Antwerp, Wilrijkstraat 10, 2650, Edegem, Belgium

    Sven Vanneste & Dirk De Ridder

  2. Department of Translational Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium

    Sven Vanneste & Paul Van De Heyning

  3. Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, UK

    Vincent Walsh

  4. Brai²n and Department of ENT, TRI Tinnitus Clinic, University Hospital Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium

    Paul Van De Heyning

  5. Department of Surgical Sciences, Dunedin School of Medicine, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand

    Dirk De Ridder

Authors
  1. Sven Vanneste
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Vincent Walsh
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Paul Van De Heyning
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Dirk De Ridder
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sven Vanneste.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Vanneste, S., Walsh, V., Van De Heyning, P. et al. Comparing immediate transient tinnitus suppression using tACS and tDCS: a placebo-controlled study. Exp Brain Res 226, 25–31 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-013-3406-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-013-3406-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation