Increased Excitability Induced in the Primary Motor Cortex by Transcranial Ultrasound Stimulation
Background: Transcranial Ultrasound Stimulation (tUS) is an emerging technique that uses ultrasonic waves to noninvasively modulate brain activity. As with other forms of non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS), tUS may be useful for altering cortical excitability and neuroplasticity for a variety of...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2018-11-01
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Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fneur.2018.01007/full |
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record_format |
Article |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Benjamin C. Gibson Joseph L. Sanguinetti Joseph L. Sanguinetti Bashar W. Badran Bashar W. Badran Bashar W. Badran Bashar W. Badran Alfred B. Yu Evan P. Klein Christopher C. Abbott Jeffrey T. Hansberger Vincent P. Clark Vincent P. Clark Vincent P. Clark |
spellingShingle |
Benjamin C. Gibson Joseph L. Sanguinetti Joseph L. Sanguinetti Bashar W. Badran Bashar W. Badran Bashar W. Badran Bashar W. Badran Alfred B. Yu Evan P. Klein Christopher C. Abbott Jeffrey T. Hansberger Vincent P. Clark Vincent P. Clark Vincent P. Clark Increased Excitability Induced in the Primary Motor Cortex by Transcranial Ultrasound Stimulation Frontiers in Neurology brain-stimulation magnetic stimulation excitability neuroplasticity excitation pulsed ultrasound |
author_facet |
Benjamin C. Gibson Joseph L. Sanguinetti Joseph L. Sanguinetti Bashar W. Badran Bashar W. Badran Bashar W. Badran Bashar W. Badran Alfred B. Yu Evan P. Klein Christopher C. Abbott Jeffrey T. Hansberger Vincent P. Clark Vincent P. Clark Vincent P. Clark |
author_sort |
Benjamin C. Gibson |
title |
Increased Excitability Induced in the Primary Motor Cortex by Transcranial Ultrasound Stimulation |
title_short |
Increased Excitability Induced in the Primary Motor Cortex by Transcranial Ultrasound Stimulation |
title_full |
Increased Excitability Induced in the Primary Motor Cortex by Transcranial Ultrasound Stimulation |
title_fullStr |
Increased Excitability Induced in the Primary Motor Cortex by Transcranial Ultrasound Stimulation |
title_full_unstemmed |
Increased Excitability Induced in the Primary Motor Cortex by Transcranial Ultrasound Stimulation |
title_sort |
increased excitability induced in the primary motor cortex by transcranial ultrasound stimulation |
publisher |
Frontiers Media S.A. |
series |
Frontiers in Neurology |
issn |
1664-2295 |
publishDate |
2018-11-01 |
description |
Background: Transcranial Ultrasound Stimulation (tUS) is an emerging technique that uses ultrasonic waves to noninvasively modulate brain activity. As with other forms of non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS), tUS may be useful for altering cortical excitability and neuroplasticity for a variety of research and clinical applications. The effects of tUS on cortical excitability are still unclear, and further complications arise from the wide parameter space offered by various types of devices, transducer arrangements, and stimulation protocols. Diagnostic ultrasound imaging devices are safe, commonly available systems that may be useful for tUS. However, the feasibility of modifying brain activity with diagnostic tUS is currently unknown.Objective: We aimed to examine the effects of a commercial diagnostic tUS device using an imaging protocol on cortical excitability. We hypothesized that imaging tUS applied to motor cortex could induce changes in cortical excitability as measured using a transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) motor evoked potential (MEP) paradigm.Methods: Forty-three subjects were assigned to receive either verum (n = 21) or sham (n = 22) diagnostic tUS in a single-blind design. Baseline motor cortex excitability was measured using MEPs elicited by TMS. Diagnostic tUS was subsequently administered to the same cortical area for 2 min, immediately followed by repeated post-stimulation MEPs recorded up to 16 min post-stimulation.Results: Verum tUS increased excitability in the motor cortex (from baseline) by 33.7% immediately following tUS (p = 0.009), and 32.4% (p = 0.047) 6 min later, with excitability no longer significantly different from baseline by 11 min post-stimulation. By contrast, subjects receiving sham tUS showed no significant changes in MEP amplitude.Conclusion: These findings demonstrate that tUS delivered via a commercially available diagnostic imaging ultrasound system transiently increases excitability in the motor cortex as measured by MEPs. Diagnostic tUS devices are currently used for internal imaging in many health care settings, and the present results suggest that these same devices may also offer a promising tool for noninvasively modulating activity in the central nervous system. Further studies exploring the use of diagnostic imaging devices for neuromodulation are warranted. |
topic |
brain-stimulation magnetic stimulation excitability neuroplasticity excitation pulsed ultrasound |
url |
https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fneur.2018.01007/full |
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doaj-b65394bc963a4ceaaaecd19948a352ea2020-11-24T23:28:50ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Neurology1664-22952018-11-01910.3389/fneur.2018.01007429138Increased Excitability Induced in the Primary Motor Cortex by Transcranial Ultrasound StimulationBenjamin C. Gibson0Joseph L. Sanguinetti1Joseph L. Sanguinetti2Bashar W. Badran3Bashar W. Badran4Bashar W. Badran5Bashar W. Badran6Alfred B. Yu7Evan P. Klein8Christopher C. Abbott9Jeffrey T. Hansberger10Vincent P. Clark11Vincent P. Clark12Vincent P. Clark13Psychology Clinical Neuroscience Center, Department of Psychology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, United StatesPsychology Clinical Neuroscience Center, Department of Psychology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, United StatesU.S. Army Research Laboratory, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD, United StatesPsychology Clinical Neuroscience Center, Department of Psychology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, United StatesU.S. Army Research Laboratory, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD, United StatesDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, The City College of New York, New York, NY, United StatesBrain Stimulation Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, United StatesU.S. Army Research Laboratory, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD, United StatesPsychology Clinical Neuroscience Center, Department of Psychology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, United StatesDepartment of Psychiatry, University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, United StatesU.S. Army Research Laboratory, Redstone Arsenal, AL, United StatesPsychology Clinical Neuroscience Center, Department of Psychology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, United StatesDepartment of Neurosciences, University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, United StatesThe Mind Research Network & LBERI, Albuquerque, NM, United StatesBackground: Transcranial Ultrasound Stimulation (tUS) is an emerging technique that uses ultrasonic waves to noninvasively modulate brain activity. As with other forms of non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS), tUS may be useful for altering cortical excitability and neuroplasticity for a variety of research and clinical applications. The effects of tUS on cortical excitability are still unclear, and further complications arise from the wide parameter space offered by various types of devices, transducer arrangements, and stimulation protocols. Diagnostic ultrasound imaging devices are safe, commonly available systems that may be useful for tUS. However, the feasibility of modifying brain activity with diagnostic tUS is currently unknown.Objective: We aimed to examine the effects of a commercial diagnostic tUS device using an imaging protocol on cortical excitability. We hypothesized that imaging tUS applied to motor cortex could induce changes in cortical excitability as measured using a transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) motor evoked potential (MEP) paradigm.Methods: Forty-three subjects were assigned to receive either verum (n = 21) or sham (n = 22) diagnostic tUS in a single-blind design. Baseline motor cortex excitability was measured using MEPs elicited by TMS. Diagnostic tUS was subsequently administered to the same cortical area for 2 min, immediately followed by repeated post-stimulation MEPs recorded up to 16 min post-stimulation.Results: Verum tUS increased excitability in the motor cortex (from baseline) by 33.7% immediately following tUS (p = 0.009), and 32.4% (p = 0.047) 6 min later, with excitability no longer significantly different from baseline by 11 min post-stimulation. By contrast, subjects receiving sham tUS showed no significant changes in MEP amplitude.Conclusion: These findings demonstrate that tUS delivered via a commercially available diagnostic imaging ultrasound system transiently increases excitability in the motor cortex as measured by MEPs. Diagnostic tUS devices are currently used for internal imaging in many health care settings, and the present results suggest that these same devices may also offer a promising tool for noninvasively modulating activity in the central nervous system. Further studies exploring the use of diagnostic imaging devices for neuromodulation are warranted.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fneur.2018.01007/fullbrain-stimulationmagnetic stimulationexcitabilityneuroplasticityexcitationpulsed ultrasound |