Dr. Parul Jain is a postdoctoral associate at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. She is interested in understanding the neural basis of behavior, particularly in humans, and in developing tools and technologies to assist in its pursuit.
Dr. Parul Jain is the recipient of the 2024 Misophonia Research Impact Award.
Her project will examine the impact of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation on symptoms of misophonia.
Q: Your research focuses on the neural mechanisms underlying psychiatric diseases. What initially drew you to study misophonia, and how does it fit within your broader research interests?
A: One major line of my research is understanding social relationships and how the way we have social interactions is affected by various disorders. On the other hand, I have previously studied audiological processing in a clinical population. Misophonia has a major audiological component, but it also affects the social life of an individual. Thus, misophonia seemed like a bridge between my previous works and new projects.
Q: Congratulations on receiving the Misophonia Research Impact Award! Could you provide an overview of your awarded project and its objectives?
A: The current project, supported by the Misophonia Research Impact Award, aims to test if modulating the activity of specific brain regions reduces the symptom severity in misophonia. The regions targeted in this study were found to have systematic differences in brain responses between participants with and without misophonia in a previous study by the Schiller lab at Mount Sinai.
Q: Your project involves using Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) to address misophonia symptoms. What inspired you to explore TMS as a potential treatment modality for misophonia?
A: The previous work that inspired this project used EEG to measure brain activity from the scalp. Modulating the activity of brain regions close to the scalp can be established non-invasively by using TMS. Another reason is that previous work by Dr. Sarah Banker found that misophonia shares a latent psychiatric dimension with obsessive-compulsive tendencies, and TMS is being studied as a treatment option for obsessive-compulsive disorder at Mount Sinai. Along with these, the ease of administration and the broad applicability of TMS made it the natural choice.
Q: What are the key challenges in applying TMS to treat misophonia, and how do you plan to address them in your research?
A: TMS makes a lot of noise, which can be agitating, especially in a population already sensitive to repetitive sounds. We will be using noise-cancelling headphones to counteract this. Also, this is an EEG study where the participants will wear the EEG cap with electrodes during the visit, another source of potential displeasure. We will aim for maximum efficiency during EEG recording so the time participants wear the cap can be minimized.
Q: How do you envision the outcomes of your TMS research influencing future therapeutic approaches for misophonia?
A: Right now, the only available treatment for misophonia is Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT), which does not work for everyone. TMS, being a non-invasive method requiring short sessions (less than 30 minutes), can be a real alternative for people seeking relief from misophonia. While we would not be surprised if not everyone responds to TMS, we expect to see improvements in enough participants to pursue it in a larger clinical trial.
Q: Misophonia is often misunderstood both in clinical settings and the general public. How do you approach educating others about the condition, and what misconceptions do you aim to dispel through your work?
A: The best way to educate people about a disorder is to talk about its biological causes. Presenting at scientific and clinical conferences, collaborating with clinicians are some of the things I have done. Platforms like the Misophonia Research Fund and TEAM provide media coverage to researchers like me working on this. Regarding misconceptions, people often try to look for a disorder of which misophonia is a symptom. By studying other psychiatric disorders alongside misophonia, I aim to underline that misophonia is itself a disorder and not just a symptom.
Q: Your collaborations span various aspects of affective cognition, including social interactions and autism spectrum disorder. How do these interdisciplinary collaborations enhance your research on misophonia?
A: Interdisciplinary collaborations help me see the dimensions where misophonia overlaps with other psychiatric disorders and where it differs from them. The existing knowledge of other disorders provides plausible theories for understanding misophonia.
Q: What advancements in neuroscience and technology do you believe hold the most promise for improving our understanding and treatment of misophonia in the coming years?
A: The innovations in AI are promising for understanding misophonia, especially the patient experience of it. Regarding treatment options, wearable stimulation devices are being developed and tested for some psychiatric disorders. If TMS is a viable treatment for misophonia, these devices can make the process more comfortable and accessible for people with misophonia.
Q: Considering your experience developing tools and technologies to study neural behavior, are there any specific innovations you're currently working on that could aid in misophonia research or treatment?
A: We are exploring using AI-based tools to understand the experience of misophonia. Large language models can help with a broader understanding of things such as the range of sounds that evoke misophonia and the variety of emotions and subjective experiences people have when exposed to a trigger sound. These details can be informative when recommending treatment options.
Q: What advice would you offer to emerging researchers interested in studying misophonia or related sensory processing disorders?
A: First, there is a lot that is unknown about misophonia, so look for gaps in knowledge and ways to address them. Second, capitalize on knowledge from other psychiatric, auditory, or other disorders to find specificities and commonalities with misophonia. Finally, consider a holistic approach that considers socio-economic status and culture. These factors can help understand the onset and progression of misophonia, which can give hints about its mechanisms and treatments.
Links:
Mount Sinai profile: https://profiles.mountsinai.org/parul-jain2
X profile: https://x.com/jainparul321
LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/parul-jain-ab870595/
Misophonia Research Fund funded research: https://www.misophoniaresearchfund.org/funded-research
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