EEG microstates and dynamic functional connectivity reveal stage-specific brain networks in subjective tinnitus.

Summary

Resting-state EEG microstate and dynamic functional network analysis in 15 acute tinnitus patients (<6 months), 15 chronic tinnitus patients (>=6 months), and 15 healthy controls. Acute tinnitus showed heightened salience-network engagement, reduced central-executive-network participation, and gamma-band hypersynchrony. Chronic tinnitus showed increased overall network stability and a shift toward low-frequency (delta/beta) efficiency in executive and auditory networks, interpreted as a compensatory state that replaces the acute imbalance over time.

Key findings

• Acute tinnitus (<6 months) shows heightened salience-network engagement and gamma-band hypersynchrony.
• Chronic tinnitus (>=6 months) shows increased network stability and a shift to low-frequency (delta/beta) efficiency.
• Suggests tinnitus brain-network signatures evolve over time, from acute salience-executive imbalance to a chronic compensatory state.