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Dr. Fatima Husain’s research team at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign built upon recently shared research findings that found similarities and differences in how brain areas communicate with one another at rest (no sounds) between individuals with misophonia only, hyperacusis only, and misophonia with hyperacusis. The latest study evaluated the same participants’ brain activity in response to unpleasant, pleasant, and neutral sound—finding additional disorder-specific differences seen in those with misophonia and hyperacusis and overlapping brain activity features in individuals with both disorders. Overall, these findings suggest that the brain may process and combine important sensory information differently in misophonia.

Differences in how the brain processes sensory information can help researchers better understand the biological mechanisms underlying misophonia and hyperacusis. Over time, these insights may help guide the development of more targeted treatment approaches.

More specifically, the researchers found the following shared and unique patterns of brain activity and communication:

• Individuals with misophonia (with and without hyperacusis) had (1) Increased activity in brain regions involved in interpreting visual information, and (2) reduced communication between visual processing regions and a group of brain areas involved in detecting important stimuli and directing attention, termed “the salience network”.
• Individuals with hyperacusis (with and without misophonia) had reduced communication between the salience network and prefrontal network, which includes brain areas involved in higher-level thinking, decision-making, and regulation of thoughts and emotions. Notably, this communication path was maintained in individuals with misophonia during unpleasant sounds.
• Individuals with misophonia and hyperacusis showed patterns seen in both misophonia alone and hyperacusis alone (above).
• Individuals with misophonia alone or hyperacusis alone had increased communication between prefrontal regions and motor networks, which are brain areas involved in planning and controlling movement.

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Research Paper Title: Differential brain responses to affective sounds in misophonia and hyperacusis: A task-based fMRI approach.

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Authors: Namitha Jain, Shagun Ajmera, Somayeh Shahsavarani, Rafar A. Khan, Gibbeum Kim, Howard Berenbaum & Fatima T. Husain

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ABOUT THE RESEARCH TEAMS

Howard Berenbaum, PhD is a Professor of Psychology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the primary investigator on a 2023 MRF Misophonia Research Impact award. Fatima Husain, PhD is a Professor of Speech and Hearing Science at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the primary investigator on a 2020 MRF Misophonia Research Impact award.

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