Authors: Kamalakannan Karupaiah¹; Ajith Kumar Uppunda²; Prashanth Prabhu³
¹Junior Research Fellow, All India Institute of Speech and Hearing (AIISH); ²Professor of Audiology, AIISH; ³Assistant Professor, AIISH
Background: Misophonia involves heightened emotional and physiological responses to specific auditory triggers, but its neurophysiological basis remains unclear. Cortical auditory evoked potentials (CAEPs) findings in misophonia are mixed. Multichannel CAEP with source localization analyses could identify subtle neural alterations and the underlying cortical generators. This study aimed to investigate auditory cortical function and delineate neural source activity associated with misophonia using auditory late latency responses (ALLRs).
Method: Eighty adults (18–30 years old) with normal hearing were divided into the misophonia (n=40) and control (n=40) groups. Individuals with Misophonia were identified using established inclusion criteria and the MisoQuest questionnaire. ALLRs were recorded using a 32-channel EEG system, and peak latencies, amplitudes, scalp topography, and source activity were analyzed.
Results: Individuals with misophonia exhibited significantly reduced ALLR amplitudes and earlier peak latencies at Fz, Cz, and Pz (p < .05). Scalp maps showed a shift from fronto-central activation (controls) to centro-parietal dominance (misophonia). Source analysis revealed increased right medial frontal gyrus activation in misophonia and greater left temporal lobe activation in controls.
Conclusion: Misophonia is associated with atypical auditory cortical processing, altered temporal dynamics, and increased frontal involvement. Distinct neural activation patterns identified through source localization highlight potential biomarkers of misophonia and provide insight into its underlying pathophysiology, with implications for the development of targeted therapeutic interventions.
