Frontal Cortex TMS for Tinnitus

Both invasive and non-invasive neuromodulation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) are capable of suppressing tinnitus loudness. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) of the DLPFC has an add-on effect for auditory cortex (AC) rTMS in improving tinnitus-related distress. We aimed to investigate whether TMS and rTMS of the DLPFC is capable of reducing tinnitus loudness and what mechanism might be involved. Two TMS studies targeting the right DLPFC were performed. Study 1 investigated 44 tinnitus patients who underwent either 1 or 10 Hz real or sham TMS (200 pulses at 80% motor threshold). In Study 2 we performed rTMS (10 sessions of 600 pulses) in responders of study 1. Changes on the visual analog scale (VAS) loudness were evaluated. All patients underwent a pre-TMS electroencephalography: differences in functional connectivity between responders and non-responders were evaluated using sLORETA. Only 1 Hz TMS was capable of significantly reducing tinnitus loudness for 11 patients with a mean suppression of 39.23%. RTMS for these 11 patients yielded a 21% improvement in VAS loudness, and in 7 of 11 rTMS was successful, with, a mean suppression of 27.13%. The responders were characterized by a difference in lagged linear connectivity in the theta band among the DLPFC, anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), parahippocampus and AC. In summary, 1 H, TMS and rTMS of the right DLPFC can transiently reduce the perceived tinnitus loudness mediated via functional connections between the DLPFC and a network consisting of the ACC, parahippocampus and AC.