{
  "abstract": "Introduction: Chronic tinnitus is a prevalent and disabling condition that is frequently accompanied by domain-specific cognitive difficulties. Abnormal neural oscillations and disrupted cross-frequency coupling (CFC) have been implicated in its pathophysiology. This study investigated whether individualized phase-amplitude-coupled transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS), tailored to each participant’s individual alpha frequency (IAF), was associated with changes in tinnitus symptoms, cognition, and neurophysiological measures.\n\nMethods: In this prospective single-arm interventional study, 25 adults with chronic tinnitus (>6 months) were enrolled, and 21 completed the protocol. Participants received five sessions of individualized IAF-based phase-amplitude-coupled tACS at 2 mA for 20 min per session. Tinnitus outcomes included the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI) and visual analog scale ratings of loudness (VAS-L) and annoyance (VAS-A). Cognitive performance was assessed using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, Trail Making Tests A and B, Digit Span Tests forward and backward (DST-F/B), and Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT). Electroencephalography-based spectral and CFC analyses were conducted in an artifact-free subgroup of 10 participants.\n\nResults: THI scores decreased significantly over the course of the intervention, whereas VAS-L and VAS-A showed no significant group-level changes. Cognitive performance improved across global cognition, processing speed, executive function, and working memory. Repeated-measures analyses demonstrated significant session effects for DST-F, DST-B, and SDMT. DST-B also showed a significant overall pre- to post-stimulation effect, whereas this effect was marginal for DST-F and absent for SDMT; no significant tACS × session interactions were observed. CFC analyses showed no significant pre- to post-stimulation changes after correction for multiple comparisons.\n\nConclusion: Repeated individualized IAF-based phase-amplitude-coupled tACS was associated with reduced tinnitus-related functional impact and improvements in several cognitive measures, whereas subjective loudness and annoyance did not change significantly at the group level. No robust group-level CFC changes were detected. Given the single-arm design and absence of sham control, these findings are preliminary and do not establish treatment-specific or causal effects. Larger randomized sham-controlled studies are needed to determine efficacy and clarify underlying neurophysiological mechanisms.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "The Laboratory of Hearing, Balance, and Integrated Neuroscience, Hallym University College of Medicine, Chuncheon , ,",
    "Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Iowa , , ,",
    "Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Hallym University College of Medicine, Anyang , ,"
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 7,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Youngmin Na"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Nour Alsabbagh"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Jayce Woojin Baek"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Sunmi Ma"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Hyo-Jeong Lee"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Jung Hye Park"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Sung Kwang Hong"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/8m7mgzqq5sb1s.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.3389/fnins.2026.1905125",
  "fulltext_url": "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13662099/?tool=EBI",
  "id": "8m7mgzqq5sb1s",
  "issns": [
    "1662-4548",
    "1662-453X"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13662099",
  "language": "eng",
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "2809|Hearing, Cochlea, Tinnitus, Genetics"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7214903542",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13662099/pdf/?tool=EBI",
  "pmcid": "PMC13662099",
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-09-30",
  "publisher": "Frontiers Media SA",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/8m7mgzqq5sb1s.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:21Z",
      "native_id": "PMC:PMC13662099",
      "source": "europepmc",
      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13662099"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:19:23Z",
      "native_id": "10.3389/fnins.2026.1905125",
      "source": "crossref",
      "url": "https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnins.2026.1905125/full"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "openalex:2809|Hearing, Cochlea, Tinnitus, Genetics",
      "subfield": "neuroscience"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Effects of individualized phase-amplitude-coupled transcranial alternating current stimulation on tinnitus and cognition",
  "title_text": "Effects of individualized phase-amplitude-coupled transcranial alternating current stimulation on tinnitus and cognition",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:19:23Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/8m7mgzqq5sb1s",
  "venue": "Frontiers in neuroscience",
  "versions": []
}