Current State of Potential Mechanisms Supporting Low Intensity Focused Ultrasound for Neuromodulation
Low intensity focused ultrasound (LIFU) has been gaining traction as a non-invasive neuromodulation technology due to its superior spatial specificity relative to transcranial electrical/magnetic stimulation. Despite a growing literature of LIFU-induced behavioral modifications, the mechanisms of ac...
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Published in | Frontiers in human neuroscience Vol. 16; p. 872639 |
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Main Authors | , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Switzerland
Frontiers Research Foundation
25.04.2022
Frontiers Media S.A |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Low intensity focused ultrasound (LIFU) has been gaining traction as a non-invasive neuromodulation technology due to its superior spatial specificity relative to transcranial electrical/magnetic stimulation. Despite a growing literature of LIFU-induced behavioral modifications, the mechanisms of action supporting LIFU's parameter-dependent excitatory and suppressive effects are not fully understood. This review provides a comprehensive introduction to the underlying mechanics of both acoustic energy and neuronal membranes, defining the primary variables for a subsequent review of the field's proposed mechanisms supporting LIFU's neuromodulatory effects. An exhaustive review of the empirical literature was also conducted and studies were grouped based on the sonication parameters used and behavioral effects observed, with the goal of linking empirical findings to the proposed theoretical mechanisms and evaluating which model best fits the existing data. A neuronal intramembrane cavitation excitation model, which accounts for differential effects as a function of cell-type, emerged as a possible explanation for the range of excitatory effects found in the literature. The suppressive and other findings need additional theoretical mechanisms and these theoretical mechanisms need to have established relationships to sonication parameters. |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-2 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-3 content type line 23 ObjectType-Review-1 This article was submitted to Brain Imaging and Stimulation, a section of the journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience Edited by: Zhen Yuan, University of Macau, China Reviewed by: Yuhao Chen, Guangzhou Medical University, China; Ricardo Nuno Braço Forte Salvador, Neuroelectrics, Spain; Dingjie Suo, Beijing Institute of Technology, China |
ISSN: | 1662-5161 1662-5161 |
DOI: | 10.3389/fnhum.2022.872639 |