Chronic tinnitus is a common condition with few effective treatments and no cure. Though inconsistent results across MRI studies of tinnitus have slowed mechanistic insight, converging evidence across animal and human studies clearly implicate auditory-system dysfunction. This paper presents a systematic, retrospective assessment of auditory-network function in chronic tinnitus across multiple fMRI datasets....
No actionable clinical change yet — this is a mechanistic preprint that advances understanding of brain network activity in chronic tinnitus but does not provide treatment guidance.
Resolving inconsistencies in tinnitus neuroimaging findings is a key step toward identifying reliable brain-based targets for future therapies, making this work foundational for the field.
- 01Preprint (medRxiv) using MRI to examine auditory network coherence (coordinated brain activity) in chronic tinnitus sufferers.
- 02Aims to reconcile contradictory findings from previous neuroimaging studies on tinnitus.
- 03Investigates 'discoherence' — reduced coordination — between auditory brain regions as a potential tinnitus mechanism.
- 04Not yet peer-reviewed; findings should be interpreted with caution.
- 05Could inform future neuromodulation or brain-stimulation treatment targets for tinnitus.
Chronic tinnitus is associated with discoherence (reduced coordinated activity) within the auditory brain network as measured by MRI.
studyunclearPrior neuroimaging studies of tinnitus show inconsistent findings that this study aims to resolve.
studysupported- PMID
- 42292020
- DOI
- 10.64898/2026.06.01.26354620.
- Journal
- medRxiv (preprint)
- Publication type
- research_article
- Evidence level
- 2b
- Population
- Adults with chronic tinnitus compared to controls without tinnitus
- Intervention
- MRI-based auditory network coherence analysis
- Comparator
- Participants without chronic tinnitus
Primary outcomes
Auditory network coherence measures via MRI in chronic tinnitus vs. controls