Archived Webinar: Cognitive neuroscience of tinnitus with Fatima Husain – Aired Wednesday, April 26, 2023 at 1 PM ET

March 20th, 2023

DATE: Wednesday, April 26, 2023 – 1 PM ET

SPEAKER: Fatima Husain, Professor & Director of Undergraduate Studies, Department of Speech and Hearing Science, University of Illinois

Abstract:

Despite being fairly prevalent, tinnitus remains a mystery. In my lab and other centers around the world, brain imaging in humans is unpacking some of that mystery. In particular, it has revealed that large-scale networks, not just the auditory pathways or the primary auditory cortex, mediate the condition of tinnitus. This is not surprising given that tinnitus is both the perception of the sound and the psychological reaction to it. Brain imaging studies have also revealed how these networks change due to an intervention, such as the use of amplification or mindfulness-based training. In this lecture, I will review what we know of the extra-auditory networks implicated in tinnitus, including those known for attention and emotion processing.

Learning Points:

  1. The attendee will learn about both perception and psychological reaction of tinnitus sounds and how they exist on a continuum.
  2. The attendee will learn about how brain imaging, specifically functional magnetic resonance imaging or fMRI, is helpful in understanding the neural networks of tinnitus.
  3. The attendee will learn about the changes in brain networks due to an intervention such as amplification or mindfulness-based training.

SPEAKER BIO: Fatima Husain, Professor & Director of Undergraduate Studies, Department of Speech and Hearing Science, University of Illinois

Dr. Fatima T. Husain is a Professor in the Department of Speech and Hearing Science, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She is also affiliated with the Neuroscience Program and the Beckman Institute for Advance Science and Technology. Dr. Husain’s research program is centered around three major themes: (1) normal audition and speech perception, (2) disorders of the auditory system, particularly hearing loss and tinnitus, and (3) effects of aging on audition and cognition. She uses a multidisciplinary approach combining behavioral, brain imaging, and computational neuro-modeling tools. She has published over 38 peer-reviewed journal articles on tinnitus and neural bases of tinnitus.