Abstract
It is known that auditory information is continuously processed both during wakefulness and sleep. Consistently, it has been shown that sound stimulation mimicking tinnitus during sleep decreases the intensity of tinnitus and improves the patients’ quality of life. The mechanisms underlying this effect are not known. To begin to address this question, eleven patients suffering from tinnitus were stimulated with sound mimicking tinnitus at different sleep stages; 4 were stimulated in N2, 4 in stage N3 (slow waves sleep) and 3 in REM sleep (stage with Rapid Eyes Movements). Patients’ sleep stage was monitored through polysomnography, for sound stimulation application. Tinnitus level reported by subjects were compared the days before and after stimulation and statistically analyzed (paired Student t test). All patients stimulated at stage N2 reported significantly lower tinnitus intensity the day after stimulation, while none stimulated during stage N3 and only one out of three stimulated during REM sleep showed changes. These results are consistent with studies showing that sound stimulation during N2 (sleep stage with spindles) changes power spectrum and coherence of electroencephalographic signals, and suggest that the N2 sleep stage is a critical period for reducing tinnitus intensity using this therapeutic strategy, during which auditory processing networks are more malleable by sound stimulation.
Highlights
From Aristotle to our days, it has been generally accepted that sensory integration is not abolished by sleep (Aristotle, trans. in 1955; Burton, Harsh, & Badia, 1988; Halász, 1988; Maury, 1878)
All patients stimulated at stage N2 reported significantly lower tinnitus intensity the day after stimulation, while none stimulated during stage N3 and only one out of three stimulated during REM sleep showed changes
These results are consistent with studies showing that sound stimulation during N2 changes power spectrum and coherence of electroencephalographic signals, and suggest that the N2 sleep stage is a critical period for reducing tinnitus intensity using this therapeutic strategy, during which auditory processing networks are more malleable by sound stimulation
Summary
From Aristotle to our days, it has been generally accepted that sensory integration is not abolished by sleep (Aristotle, trans. in 1955; Burton, Harsh, & Badia, 1988; Halász, 1988; Maury, 1878). From Aristotle to our days, it has been generally accepted that sensory integration is not abolished by sleep The auditory input throughout the day is processed and consolidated as a memory during sleep. The Central Nervous System (CNS) continues processing information that enters from the environment, since the auditory system remains as a sentinel during sleep, capable of receiving information, analyzing it, and generating a response. The maternal waking up by baby crying is an example of stimuli considered significant among information stored in memory detected and recognized while asleep (Formby, 1967). Auditory contents are reported in 65 % of dreams (Hobson, 1990; McCarley & Hoffman, 1981) and sensory information can be incorporated into them (Bastuji & García-Larrea, 2005)
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