Transcranial Focused Ultrasound Neuromodulation in Psychiatry: Main Characteristics, Current Evidence, and Future Directions

Non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) techniques are designed to precisely and selectively target specific brain regions, thus enabling focused modulation of neural activity. Among NIBS technologies, low-intensity transcranial focused ultrasound (tFUS) has emerged as a promising new modality. The ap...

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Main Authors: Ahmadreza Keihani, Claudio Sanguineti, Omeed Chaichian, Chloe A. Huston, Caitlin Moore, Cynthia Cheng, Sabine A. Janssen, Francesco L. Donati, Ahmad Mayeli, Khaled Moussawi, Mary L. Phillips, Fabio Ferrarelli
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-10-01
Series:Brain Sciences
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/14/11/1095
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author Ahmadreza Keihani
Claudio Sanguineti
Omeed Chaichian
Chloe A. Huston
Caitlin Moore
Cynthia Cheng
Sabine A. Janssen
Francesco L. Donati
Ahmad Mayeli
Khaled Moussawi
Mary L. Phillips
Fabio Ferrarelli
author_facet Ahmadreza Keihani
Claudio Sanguineti
Omeed Chaichian
Chloe A. Huston
Caitlin Moore
Cynthia Cheng
Sabine A. Janssen
Francesco L. Donati
Ahmad Mayeli
Khaled Moussawi
Mary L. Phillips
Fabio Ferrarelli
author_sort Ahmadreza Keihani
collection DOAJ
description Non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) techniques are designed to precisely and selectively target specific brain regions, thus enabling focused modulation of neural activity. Among NIBS technologies, low-intensity transcranial focused ultrasound (tFUS) has emerged as a promising new modality. The application of tFUS can safely and non-invasively stimulate deep brain structures with millimetric precision, offering distinct advantages in terms of accessibility to non-cortical regions over other NIBS methods. However, to date, several tFUS aspects still need to be characterized; furthermore, there are only a handful of studies that have utilized tFUS in psychiatric populations. This narrative review provides an up-to-date overview of key aspects of this NIBS technique, including the main components of a tFUS system, the neuronavigational tools used to precisely target deep brain regions, the simulations utilized to optimize the stimulation parameters and delivery of tFUS, and the experimental protocols employed to evaluate the efficacy of tFUS in psychiatric disorders. The main findings from studies in psychiatric populations are presented and discussed, and future directions are highlighted.
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spelling doaj-art-1e22cdca7afb4ba296c2bba97c5ee6242024-11-26T17:54:57ZengMDPI AGBrain Sciences2076-34252024-10-011411109510.3390/brainsci14111095Transcranial Focused Ultrasound Neuromodulation in Psychiatry: Main Characteristics, Current Evidence, and Future DirectionsAhmadreza Keihani0Claudio Sanguineti1Omeed Chaichian2Chloe A. Huston3Caitlin Moore4Cynthia Cheng5Sabine A. Janssen6Francesco L. Donati7Ahmad Mayeli8Khaled Moussawi9Mary L. Phillips10Fabio Ferrarelli11Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USADepartment of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USADepartment of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USADepartment of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USADepartment of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USADepartment of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USADepartment of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USADepartment of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USADepartment of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USADepartment of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143, USADepartment of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USADepartment of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USANon-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) techniques are designed to precisely and selectively target specific brain regions, thus enabling focused modulation of neural activity. Among NIBS technologies, low-intensity transcranial focused ultrasound (tFUS) has emerged as a promising new modality. The application of tFUS can safely and non-invasively stimulate deep brain structures with millimetric precision, offering distinct advantages in terms of accessibility to non-cortical regions over other NIBS methods. However, to date, several tFUS aspects still need to be characterized; furthermore, there are only a handful of studies that have utilized tFUS in psychiatric populations. This narrative review provides an up-to-date overview of key aspects of this NIBS technique, including the main components of a tFUS system, the neuronavigational tools used to precisely target deep brain regions, the simulations utilized to optimize the stimulation parameters and delivery of tFUS, and the experimental protocols employed to evaluate the efficacy of tFUS in psychiatric disorders. The main findings from studies in psychiatric populations are presented and discussed, and future directions are highlighted.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/14/11/1095non-invasive brain stimulationtranscranial focused ultrasoundpsychiatric disorders
spellingShingle Ahmadreza Keihani
Claudio Sanguineti
Omeed Chaichian
Chloe A. Huston
Caitlin Moore
Cynthia Cheng
Sabine A. Janssen
Francesco L. Donati
Ahmad Mayeli
Khaled Moussawi
Mary L. Phillips
Fabio Ferrarelli
Transcranial Focused Ultrasound Neuromodulation in Psychiatry: Main Characteristics, Current Evidence, and Future Directions
Brain Sciences
non-invasive brain stimulation
transcranial focused ultrasound
psychiatric disorders
title Transcranial Focused Ultrasound Neuromodulation in Psychiatry: Main Characteristics, Current Evidence, and Future Directions
title_full Transcranial Focused Ultrasound Neuromodulation in Psychiatry: Main Characteristics, Current Evidence, and Future Directions
title_fullStr Transcranial Focused Ultrasound Neuromodulation in Psychiatry: Main Characteristics, Current Evidence, and Future Directions
title_full_unstemmed Transcranial Focused Ultrasound Neuromodulation in Psychiatry: Main Characteristics, Current Evidence, and Future Directions
title_short Transcranial Focused Ultrasound Neuromodulation in Psychiatry: Main Characteristics, Current Evidence, and Future Directions
title_sort transcranial focused ultrasound neuromodulation in psychiatry main characteristics current evidence and future directions
topic non-invasive brain stimulation
transcranial focused ultrasound
psychiatric disorders
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/14/11/1095
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