What is Misophonia?

Misophonia is a disorder of emotion processing in which ordinary day-to-day sounds cause distress to the point that it has debilitating effects on the occupational, social and domestic life of the sufferer. Typically, these sounds (termed ‘trigger’ sounds) include eating, chewing, drinking and breathing sounds made by people other than the sufferer. 

 

We are interested in multiple aspects of Misophonia, some questions we are interested in are the following:

  • What brain mechanism underlies misophonic distress?
  • What factors drive the hyperactivity and connectivity of the anterior insula (AI) in misophones?
  • What physiological responses occur from aberrant activity in the AI?

 

The knowledge gained will make a great contribution to our understanding of the psychological factors underlying misophonia. The information obtained will play an important role in developing potential psychological/pharmacological interventions for the condition. 

 

 

Ongoing Misophonia Projects

Role of Expectations and Beliefs in Driving Brain Activity in Misophonia

Researchers in the Interoception Lab at University of Iowa are looking for participants for a brain imaging study to understand how the brain processes common sounds that we hear on daily basis. We are seeking adults between the ages of 18-50.

To participate you must:

  • Be between 18 – 50 years old
  • Be a native English speaker
  • Have no history of cardiovascular, neurological, or cognitive impairment
  • Have no diagnosed hearing loss

Participants will be asked to complete few questionnaires (which will take about 20 minutes), and if eligible, a MRI brain scanning session will be arranged. The MRI session requires a single visit lasting 1 hour. You will be paid $10 for completion of the questionnaires, and an additional $20 for MRI scanning.

Contact the research team at lab-interoception@uiowa.edu for more information.

 

Previous Misophona Projects

The Brain Basis for Misophonia

This project served an important role in the research on misophonia by allowing researchers to understand what happens in the brain and body of misophones while hearing a trigger sound. Specifically, Kumar et al. used fMRI, MRI, and physiological measurements to examine trigger-related-responses in the brain and body. Trigger sounds elicited greater activity in the anterior insular cortex (AIC), as well as heightened heart rate (HR) and galvanic skin response (GSR), which was mediated by AIC activity. 

Link to paper: The Brain Basis for Misophonia - PubMed (nih.gov)

The Motor Basis for Misophonia

This project investigated the role that the mirror neuron system has in misophonia responses, given that most trigger sounds are produced by orofacial movements. Resting state fMRI and sound-evoked fMRI responses were analyzed. Misophonia subjects compared to control subjects showed: (1) stronger resting-state fMRI connectivity between auditory/visual cortex with the ventral premotor cortex (related to orofacial movements); (2) stronger connectivity between the auditory cortex and orofacial motor area; (3) stronger activation in the orofacial motor area in response to trigger sounds. These results support our model of misophonia based on "hyper-mirroring" of orofacial movements, where sounds are the "medium" through which other's movements are mirrored. 

Link to paper: The Motor Basis for Misophonia - PubMed (nih.gov)