On the Neuromodulatory Pathways of the <i>In Vivo</i> Brain by Means of Transcranial Focused Ultrasound.
Authors: Niu X, Yu K, He B
For last decade, low-intensity transcranial focused ultrasound (tFUS) has been rapidly developed for a myriad of successful applications in neuromodulation. tFUS possesses high spatial resolution, focality and depth penetration as a noninvasive neuromodulation tool. Despite the promise, confounding activation can be observed in rodents when stimulation parameters are not selected carefully. Here we summarize the existing classes of observations for ultrasound neuromodulation: ultrasound directly activates a localized area, or ultrasound indirectly activates auditory pathways, which further propagates to other cortical networks. We also present control <i>in vivo</i> animal studies, which suggest that underlying tFUS brain modulation is characterized by localized activation independent of auditory networks activations.
Introduction
Purpose
Transcranial ultrasound stimulation
Study Objective
To determine whether low-intensity transcranial focused ultrasound produces localized brain activation independent of indirect auditory pathway activation, by summarizing existing observations and presenting in vivo control animal studies.
Animal model / Human subject
guinea pig, Dunkin-Hartley, not reported, male
Disease model
healthy
Targeted brain region(s)
Auditory Cortex
Outcomes and Safety
Summary of Outcomes
The study demonstrated that tFUS can directly modulate neural activity independently of the indirect auditory activation caused by bone conduction.
Duration of biological effect
not reported
Safety-related matter
Confounding auditory side effects were identified in rodents, but direct neuromodulation was achievable through careful parameter optimization without tissue damage
Brain Region
Ultrasound Parameters
Ultrasound instrument
single-element focused ultrasound transducer
FUS Frequency
0.5 MHz
FUS Intensity
not reported
FUS Pressure
0.2 MPa
FUS Mode
not reported
Pulse duration
0.5 ms
Duration of a single FUS session
200 ms
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