Amazing stuff! This sounds very promising!
"A new study has found that using ultrasound to target specific areas of the brain causes functional changes that last for up to an hour. The findings pave the way for the development of non-invasive methods of treating mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety. ...
low-intensity transcranial ultrasound stimulation (TUS) can target both surface and deep brain regions with very high specificity, placing ultrasonic pressure on a region of the brain that changes the way neurons interact. ...
low-intensity transcranial ultrasound stimulation (TUS) can target both surface and deep brain regions with very high specificity, placing ultrasonic pressure on a region of the brain that changes the way neurons interact. ...
They recruited 24 healthy adults to investigate how TUS affected levels of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and connectivity between brain regions. GABA is the primary inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain, it reduces a neuron’s ability to send and receive chemical messages. Specifically, GABA affects how the body reacts to feelings of anxiety, fear, and stress. ...
All participants completed three theta-burst TUS sessions, with an MRI after each session to assess changes to brain function. Theta-burst TUS is a form of brain stimulation that delivers short bursts at high frequencies, closely mimicking the natural rhythms of activity in the neurons. It’s thought to promote plasticity, the ability of the brain to form and reorganize neural connections in response to learning or experience.
The researchers found that TUS applied to the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), an area deep in the brain associated with emotion and memory, reduced GABA levels in that region for up to an hour after treatment. They also found that the way the PCC communicated with the rest of the brain (functional connectivity) improved over that time. The PCC has been found to be abnormal across a range of psychiatric disorders. ...
When TUS was applied to the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) – the region implicated in emotion, empathy, impulse control and decision-making, and, like the PCC, in psychopathology – the researchers did not see the same decrease in GABA levels, but they did see an increase in functional connectivity. ..."
From the abstract:
"Low-intensity transcranial ultrasound stimulation (TUS) is an emerging non-invasive technique for focally modulating human brain function. The mechanisms and neurochemical substrates underlying TUS neuromodulation in humans and how these relate to excitation and inhibition are still poorly understood. In 24 healthy controls, we separately stimulated two deep cortical regions and investigated the effects of theta-burst TUS, a protocol shown to increase corticospinal excitability, on the inhibitory neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and functional connectivity. We show that theta-burst TUS in humans selectively reduces GABA levels in the posterior cingulate, but not the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex. Functional connectivity increased following TUS in both regions. Our findings suggest that TUS changes overall excitability by reducing GABAergic inhibition and that changes in TUS-mediated neuroplasticity last at least 50 mins after stimulation. The difference in TUS effects on the posterior and anterior cingulate could suggest state- or location-dependency of the TUS effect—both mechanisms increasingly recognized to influence the brain’s response to neuromodulation."
Targeted ultrasound can change brain functions for up to an hour after intervention Neuroscientists working in our Brain Research and Imaging Centre led a new study published in Nature Communications
Transcranial focused ultrasound-mediated neurochemical and functional connectivity changes in deep cortical regions in humans (open access)
Fig. 1: Study design.
Researchers have found that targeting particular brain regions with ultrasound produces significant, reversible changes
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