scholarly journals Manipulation of subcortical and deep cortical activity in the primate brain using transcranial focused ultrasound stimulation

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Davide Folloni ◽  
Lennart Verhagen ◽  
Rogier B. Mars ◽  
Elsa Fouragnan ◽  
Charlotte Constans ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Focused Ultrasound ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Cortical Region ◽  
Ultrasound Stimulation ◽  
Primate Brain ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Transcranial Focused Ultrasound ◽  
Deep Brain

SummaryThe causal role of an area within a neural network can be determined by interfering with its activity and measuring the impact. Many current reversible manipulation techniques have limitations preventing their focal application particularly in deep areas of the primate brain. Here we demonstrate a transcranial focused ultrasound stimulation (TUS) protocol that manipulates activity even in deep brain areas: a subcortical brain structure, the amygdala (experiment 1), and a deep cortical region, anterior cingulate cortex (ACC, experiment 2), in macaques. TUS neuromodulatory effects were measured by examining relationships between activity in each area and the rest of the brain using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). In control conditions without sonication, activity in a given area is related to activity in interconnected regions but such relationships are reduced after sonication. Dissociable and focal effects on neural activity could not be explained by auditory artefacts.

scholarly journals Neuromodulation with transcranial focused ultrasound

2018 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. E14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Kubanek
Keyword(s):  
Focused Ultrasound ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Stimulation Parameters ◽  
Cellular Excitability ◽  
Psychiatric Conditions ◽  
Specific Stimulation ◽  
Future Work ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Transcranial Focused Ultrasound

The understanding of brain function and the capacity to treat neurological and psychiatric disorders rest on the ability to intervene in neuronal activity in specific brain circuits. Current methods of neuromodulation incur a tradeoff between spatial focus and the level of invasiveness. Transcranial focused ultrasound (FUS) is emerging as a neuromodulation approach that combines noninvasiveness with focus that can be relatively sharp even in regions deep in the brain. This may enable studies of the causal role of specific brain regions in specific behaviors and behavioral disorders. In addition to causal brain mapping, the spatial focus of FUS opens new avenues for treatments of neurological and psychiatric conditions. This review introduces existing and emerging FUS applications in neuromodulation, discusses the mechanisms of FUS effects on cellular excitability, considers the effects of specific stimulation parameters, and lays out the directions for future work.

Computational optimization of transcranial focused ultrasound stimulation: Toward noninvasive, selective stimulation of deep brain structures

2021 ◽  
Vol 118 (23) ◽  
pp. 233702
Author(s):  
A. De Angelis ◽  
M. Leonetti ◽  
F. Apollonio ◽  
M. Liberti ◽  
S. M. Aglioti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Focused Ultrasound ◽  
Brain Structures ◽  
Selective Stimulation ◽  
Computational Optimization ◽  
Ultrasound Stimulation ◽  
Transcranial Focused Ultrasound ◽  
Deep Brain ◽  
Stimulation Of

scholarly journals Manipulation of Subcortical and Deep Cortical Activity in the Primate Brain Using Transcranial Focused Ultrasound Stimulation

Neuron ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 101 (6) ◽  
pp. 1109-1116.e5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Davide Folloni ◽  
Lennart Verhagen ◽  
Rogier B. Mars ◽  
Elsa Fouragnan ◽  
Charlotte Constans ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Focused Ultrasound ◽  
Cortical Activity ◽  
Ultrasound Stimulation ◽  
Primate Brain ◽  
Transcranial Focused Ultrasound

scholarly journals Neuronal responses to focused ultrasound are gated by pre-stimulation brain rhythms

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Duc Nguyen ◽  
Elisa Konofagou ◽  
Jacek P Dmochowski
Keyword(s):  
Firing Rate ◽  
Neural Activity ◽  
Focused Ultrasound ◽  
Continuous Wave ◽  
Neuronal Response ◽  
Non Invasive ◽  
Ultrasound Stimulation ◽  
Stimulation Period ◽  
The Impact

Background: Owing to its high spatial resolution and penetration depth, transcranial focused ultrasound stimulation (tFUS) is one of the most promising approaches to non-invasive neuromodulation. Identifying the impact of the stimulation waveform and endogenous neural activity on neuromodulation outcome is critical to harnessing the potential of tFUS. Objective: Here we tested a new form of tFUS where the amplitude of the ultrasonic waveform is modulated at a rate much slower than the operating frequency. Moreover, we sought to identify the relationship between pre-stimulation neural activity and the neuronal response to tFUS. Methods: We applied three minutes of amplitude modulated (AM) tFUS at 40 Hz to the rat hippocampus while recording local field potentials (LFP) and multi-unit activity (MUA) from the sonicated region. To assess the role of AM, we also tested continuous-wave (CW) stimulation. Results: AM tFUS reduced firing rate during and immediately after stimulation. On the other hand, CW tFUS produced an acute firing rate increase that was abolished after sonication. For both waveforms, firing rate changes were stronger in units exhibiting high baseline LFP power, particularly in the gamma band (30-250 Hz). The neuromodulatory effect was also influenced by the prevalence of sharp wave ripples (SWR) during the pre-stimulation period, with firing rates modulated by up to 33% at units showing frequent baseline SWR. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that AM and CW tFUS produce qualitatively different neuronal outcomes, and that baseline rhythms may effectively gate the response to tFUS.

scholarly journals The macaque anterior cingulate cortex translates counterfactual choice value into actual behavioral change

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
E Fouragnan ◽  
BKH Chau ◽  
D Folloni ◽  
N Kolling ◽  
L Verhagen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Anterior Cingulate Cortex ◽  
Behavioral Change ◽  
Focused Ultrasound ◽  
Cingulate Cortex ◽  
Neural Mechanisms ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Translation Process ◽  
Ultrasound Stimulation ◽  
Sensory Evidence ◽  
Transcranial Focused Ultrasound

AbstractThe neural mechanisms mediating sensory-guided decision making have received considerable attention but animals often pursue behaviors for which there is currently no sensory evidence. Such behaviors are guided by internal representations of choice values that have to be maintained even when these choices are unavailable. We investigated how four macaque monkeys maintained representations of the value of counterfactual choices – choices that could not be taken at the current moment but which could be taken in the future. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we found two different patterns of activity co-varying with values of counterfactual choices in a circuit spanning hippocampus, anterior lateral prefrontal cortex, and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). ACC activity also reflected whether the internal value representations would be translated into actual behavioral change. To establish the causal importance of ACC for this translation process, we used a novel technique, Transcranial Focused Ultrasound Stimulation, to reversibly disrupt ACC activity.

Preserving Integrity in the Face of Performance Threat

2012 ◽  
Vol 23 (12) ◽  
pp. 1455-1460 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Legault ◽  
Timour Al-Khindi ◽  
Michael Inzlicht
Keyword(s):  
Error Detection ◽  
Error Monitoring ◽  
Error Related Negativity ◽  
Threatening Information ◽  
Electrophysiological Responses ◽  
The Face ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Brain

Self-affirmation produces large effects: Even a simple reminder of one’s core values reduces defensiveness against threatening information. But how, exactly, does self-affirmation work? We explored this question by examining the impact of self-affirmation on neurophysiological responses to threatening events. We hypothesized that because self-affirmation increases openness to threat and enhances approachability of unfavorable feedback, it should augment attention and emotional receptivity to performance errors. We further hypothesized that this augmentation could be assessed directly, at the level of the brain. We measured self-affirmed and nonaffirmed participants’ electrophysiological responses to making errors on a task. As we anticipated, self-affirmation elicited greater error responsiveness than did nonaffirmation, as indexed by the error-related negativity, a neural signal of error monitoring. Self-affirmed participants also performed better on the task than did nonaffirmed participants. We offer novel brain evidence that self-affirmation increases openness to threat and discuss the role of error detection in the link between self-affirmation and performance.

scholarly journals Research participants as collaborators: Background, experience and policies from the PREVENT Dementia and EPAD programmes

Dementia ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (8) ◽  
pp. 1045-1054 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Gregory ◽  
Katie Wells ◽  
Kate Forsyth ◽  
Cate Latto ◽  
Helen Szyra ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Patient Involvement ◽  
Research Participant ◽  
Steering Committee ◽  
Research Participants ◽  
Prospective Cohort Studies ◽  
Participant Experience ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Public And Patient Involvement

Aim Despite the growing importance of public and patient involvement in biomedical research, comparatively little attention has been paid to the important role of research participants themselves. Our aim in this paper is to explore the impact research participant involvement has within the PREVENT and the European Prevention of Alzheimer’s Dementia (EPAD) projects. Method In this paper, we report the experiences of involving research participants as collaborators in prospective cohort studies exploring early changes in the brain as pathways towards and risks for dementia. We use minutes and feedback from members of the panel and steering committee to understand the experience and impact on the study. Results We describe the aims and structure of the participant panel established within the PREVENT Dementia study and highlight its contributions to the organisation, conduct and future of the study. Key areas of contribution identified include recruitment, inclusion of additional sub-studies, understanding the participant experience and contributing to the future of the study. Discussion We then describe how the PREVENT Dementia panel forms the basis for participant involvement within EPAD project.

scholarly journals Is There a Link between Oropharyngeal Microbiome and Schizophrenia? A Narrative Review

2022 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 846
Author(s):  
Stanislas Martin ◽  
Audrey Foulon ◽  
Wissam El Hage ◽  
Diane Dufour-Rainfray ◽  
Frédéric Denis
Keyword(s):  
Periodontal Disease ◽  
Research Team ◽  
Oral Microbiome ◽  
Oral Microbiota ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Moment ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Brain

The study aimed to examine the impact of the oropharyngeal microbiome in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia and to clarify whether there might be a bidirectional link between the oral microbiota and the brain in a context of dysbiosis-related neuroinflammation. We selected nine articles including three systemic reviews with several articles from the same research team. Different themes emerged, which we grouped into 5 distinct parts concerning the oropharyngeal phageome, the oropharyngeal microbiome, the salivary microbiome and periodontal disease potentially associated with schizophrenia, and the impact of drugs on the microbiome and schizophrenia. We pointed out the presence of phageoma in patients suffering from schizophrenia and that periodontal disease reinforces the role of inflammation in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. Moreover, saliva could be an interesting substrate to characterize the different stages of schizophrenia. However, the few studies we have on the subject are limited in scope, and some of them are the work of a single team. At this stage of knowledge, it is difficult to conclude on the existence of a bidirectional link between the brain and the oral microbiome. Future studies on the subject will clarify these questions that for the moment remain unresolved.

scholarly journals A selective effect of dopamine on information-seeking

eLife ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valentina Vellani ◽  
Lianne P de Vries ◽  
Anne Gaule ◽  
Tali Sharot
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Selective Effect ◽  
Reward Seeking ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Primary Reward

Humans are motivated to seek information from their environment. How the brain motivates this behavior is unknown. One speculation is that the brain employs neuromodulatory systems implicated in primary reward-seeking, in particular dopamine, to instruct information-seeking. However, there has been no causal test for the role of dopamine in information-seeking. Here, we show that administration of a drug that enhances dopamine function (dihydroxy-L-phenylalanine; L-DOPA) reduces the impact of valence on information-seeking. Specifically, while participants under Placebo sought more information about potential gains than losses, under L-DOPA this difference was not observed. The results provide new insight into the neurobiology of information-seeking and generates the prediction that abnormal dopaminergic function (such as in Parkinson’s disease) will result in valence-dependent changes to information-seeking.

scholarly journals Transcranial Ultrasound Stimulation in Anterior Cingulate Cortex Impairs Information Sampling and Learning in Loss Contexts

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kianoush Banaie Boroujeni ◽  
Michelle K Sigona ◽  
Robert Louie Treuting ◽  
Manuel J Thomas ◽  
Charles F Caskey ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Anterior Cingulate Cortex ◽  
Behavioral Flexibility ◽  
Cingulate Cortex ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Transcranial Ultrasound ◽  
Neural Signals ◽  
Visual Objects ◽  
Ultrasound Stimulation ◽  
Information Sampling

Neural activity in anterior cingulate cortex and the anterior striatum predicts which visual objects are sampled and how likely objects are paired with positive or aversive outcomes. We causally tested whether these neural signals contribute to behavioral flexibility. Disrupting with transcranial ultrasound the ACC, but not striatum, prolonged information sampling when attentional demands were high, impaired flexible learning, and reduced the ability to avoid losses. These results support a role of the ACC in guiding attention and information sampling to overcome motivational conflict during adaptive behaviors.

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