Ten years of the stochastic resonance model of tinnitus: from phantom perception to adaptive sensory optimization

Résumé fourni par la source

Subjective tinnitus—the perception of sound in the absence of an external acoustic stimulus—remains one of the most debated phenomena in auditory neuroscience. In 2016, the stochastic resonance (SR) model was introduced as an alternative account of tinnitus-related neuronal hyperactivity, proposing that internally generated neural noise is adaptively upregulated to restore information transmission after hearing loss. Rather than interpreting increased spontaneous activity as purely maladaptive, the model reframed it as a functional mechanism that enhances signal detection near sensory thresholds, with tinnitus emerging as a perceptual side effect of adaptive sensory optimization. Over the past decade, this framework has evolved from a phenomenological hypothesis into a broader neuro-computational theory integrating information theory, adaptive signal detection, multichannel auditory processing, and cross-modal plasticity. The available literature spans different levels of evidence: computational simulations establish proof of principle, whereas animal experiments, observational analyses, and early clinical studies test distinct and partially overlapping predictions of the model. The framework has also motivated a specific parameterization of sound-based interventions using spectrally matched near-threshold noise. Established tinnitus maskers and sound therapies were developed independently of the SR model. Their comparative clinical efficacy has yet to be systematically evaluated. Recently, the SR framework has been embedded within a unified theory of auditory (phantom) perception that integrates stochastic resonance, central gain, homeostatic plasticity, and predictive coding. This review provides a chronological account of the development of the stochastic resonance model of tinnitus, summarizes theoretical refinements and empirical evidence, and outlines future directions for mechanistic validation and clinical translation. By redefining tinnitus as an emergent consequence of adaptive sensory computation, the model shifts the conceptual focus from pathological dysfunction to principles of information optimization in neural systems.

Ce résumé expose les affirmations des auteurs. BNTIC ne l’interprète pas comme une validation indépendante des résultats.