Acoustic deep brain modulation: Enhancing neuronal activation and neurogenesis

Background

Non-invasive deep brain modulation (DBM) stands as a promising therapeutic avenue to treat brain diseases. Acoustic DBM represents an innovative and targeted approach to modulate the deep brain, employing techniques such as focused ultrasound and shock waves. Despite its potential, the optimal mechanistic parameters, the effect in the brain and behavioral outcomes of acoustic DBM remains poorly understood.

Objective

To establish a robust protocol for the shock wave DBM by optimizing its mechanistic profile of external stimulation, and to assess its efficacy in preclinical settings.

Methods

We used shockwaves due to their capacity to leverage a broader spectrum of peak intensity (10–127 W/mm²) in contrast to ultrasound (0.1–5.0 W/mm²), thereby enabling a more extensive range of neuromodulation effects. We established various types of shockwave pressure profiles of DBM and compared neural and behavioral responses. To ascertain the anticipated cause of the heightened neural activity response, numerical analysis was employed to examine the mechanical dynamics within the brain.

Results

An optimized profile led to an enhancement in neuronal activity within the hypothalamus of mouse models. The optimized profile in the hippocampus elicited a marked increase in neurogenesis without neuronal damage. Behavioral analyses uncovered a noteworthy reduction in locomotion without significant effects on spatial memory function.

Conclusions

The present study provides an optimized shock wave stimulation protocol for non-invasive DBM. Our optimized stimulation profile selectively triggers neural functions in the deep brain. Our protocol paves the way for new non-invasive DBM devices to treat brain diseases.