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Review
. 2022 Mar 1;12(3):334.
doi: 10.3390/brainsci12030334.

Tinnitus Perception in Light of a Parietal Operculo-Insular Involvement: A Review

Chloé Jaroszynski  1 , Agnès Job  2 , Maciej Jedynak  1   3 , Olivier David  1   3 , Chantal Delon-Martin  1
Affiliations
Review

Tinnitus Perception in Light of a Parietal Operculo-Insular Involvement: A Review

Chloé Jaroszynski et al. Brain Sci. .

Abstract

In tinnitus literature, researchers have increasingly been advocating for a clearer distinction between tinnitus perception and tinnitus-related distress. In non-bothersome tinnitus, the perception itself can be more specifically investigated: this has provided a body of evidence, based on resting-state and activation fMRI protocols, highlighting the involvement of regions outside the conventional auditory areas, such as the right parietal operculum. Here, we aim to conduct a review of available investigations of the human parietal operculo-insular subregions conducted at the microscopic, mesoscopic, and macroscopic scales arguing in favor of an auditory-somatosensory cross-talk. Both the previous literature and new results on functional connectivity derived from cortico-cortical evoked potentials show that these subregions present a dense tissue of interconnections and a strong connectivity with auditory and somatosensory areas in the healthy brain. Disrupted integration processes between these modalities may thus result in erroneous perceptions, such as tinnitus. More precisely, we highlight the role of a subregion of the right parietal operculum, known as OP3 according to the Jülich atlas, in the integration of auditory and somatosensory representation of the orofacial muscles in the healthy population. We further discuss how a dysfunction of these muscles could induce hyperactivity in the OP3. The evidence of direct electrical stimulation of this area eliciting auditory hallucinations further suggests its involvement in tinnitus perception. Finally, a small number of neuroimaging studies of therapeutic interventions for tinnitus provide additional evidence of right parietal operculum involvement.

Keywords: F-Tract; OP3; insula; integration area; neuroimaging; parietal operculum; tinnitus.

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Conflict of interest statement

The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The auditory area (A1), parietal operculum (OP) and posterior Insula (Ins) lie on opposite banks of the lateral sulcus (underlined in black). Image derived from neurosynth.org (last accessed on 1 September 2021).
Figure 2
Figure 2
The posterior operculum of the right hemisphere shows four cytoarchitectonic subregions as defined by the Jülich group: lateral posterior OP1 (camel color), lateral anterior OP4 (grey), medial posterior OP2 (blue) and medial anterior OP3 (dark green). Different views: (A) 3D, (B) horizontal view, (C) sagittal view and (D) coronal view. Image derived from (https://interactive-viewer.apps.hbp.eu/, in 1 September 2021).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Intracortical connectivity of the four subregions of the parietal operculum from Jülich (‘JB connectivity’ stands for Jülich Brain connectivity). From top to bottom: area OP1, area OP2, area OP3 and area OP4. Left column for the subregions of the left hemisphere and right column for the subregions of the right hemisphere. Image derived from the data of the F-TRACT project (https://f-tract.eu), version of 1 December 2021.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Intracortical connectivity of the two granular subregions of the insula. From top to bottom: area Ig1 and area Ig2. Left column for the subregions of the left hemisphere and right column for the subregions of the right hemisphere. Image derived from the data of the F-TRACT project (https://f-tract.eu), version of 1 December 2021.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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