Transcranial focused ultrasound of the amygdala modulates fear network activation and connectivity
Background: Current noninvasive brain stimulation methods are incapable of directly modulating subcortical brain regions critically involved in psychiatric disorders. Transcranial Focused Ultrasound (tFUS) is a newer form of noninvasive stimulation that could modulate the amygdala, a subcortical reg...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2024-03-01
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| Series: | Brain Stimulation |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1935861X24000408 |
| _version_ | 1797265542831144960 |
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| author | Tina Chou Thilo Deckersbach Bastien Guerin Karianne Sretavan Wong Benjamin M. Borron Anish Kanabar Ashley N. Hayden Marina P. Long Mohammad Daneshzand Edward F. Pace-Schott Darin D. Dougherty |
| author_facet | Tina Chou Thilo Deckersbach Bastien Guerin Karianne Sretavan Wong Benjamin M. Borron Anish Kanabar Ashley N. Hayden Marina P. Long Mohammad Daneshzand Edward F. Pace-Schott Darin D. Dougherty |
| author_sort | Tina Chou |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Current noninvasive brain stimulation methods are incapable of directly modulating subcortical brain regions critically involved in psychiatric disorders. Transcranial Focused Ultrasound (tFUS) is a newer form of noninvasive stimulation that could modulate the amygdala, a subcortical region implicated in fear. Objective: We investigated the effects of active and sham tFUS of the amygdala on fear circuit activation, skin conductance responses (SCR), and self-reported anxiety during a fear-inducing task. We also investigated amygdala tFUS’ effects on amygdala-fear circuit resting-state functional connectivity. Methods: Thirty healthy individuals were randomized in this double-blinded study to active or sham tFUS of the left amygdala. We collected fMRI scans, SCR, and self-reported anxiety during a fear-inducing task (participants viewed red or green circles which indicated the risk of receiving an aversive stimulus), as well as resting-state scans, before and after tFUS. Results: Compared to sham tFUS, active tFUS was associated with decreased (pre to post tFUS) blood-oxygen-level-dependent fMRI activation in the amygdala (F(1,25) = 4.86, p = 0.04, η2 = 0.16) during the fear task, and lower hippocampal (F(1,27) = 4.41, p = 0.05, η2 = 0.14), and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (F(1,27) = 6.26, p = 0.02; η2 = 0.19) activation during the post tFUS fear task. The decrease in amygdala activation was correlated with decreased subjective anxiety (r = 0.62, p = 0.03). There was no group effect in SCR changes from pre to post tFUS (F(1,23) = 0.85, p = 0.37). The active tFUS group also showed decreased amygdala-insula (F(1,28) = 4.98, p = 0.03) and amygdala-hippocampal (F(1,28) = 7.14, p = 0.01) rsFC, and increased amygdala-ventromedial prefrontal cortex (F(1,28) = 3.52, p = 0.05) resting-state functional connectivity. Conclusions: tFUS can change functional connectivity and brain region activation associated with decreased anxiety. Future studies should investigate tFUS’ therapeutic potential for individuals with clinical levels of anxiety. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-25T00:46:27Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7c260b96a97841f9872de59282f5ab9c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1935-861X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-25T00:46:27Z |
| publishDate | 2024-03-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Brain Stimulation |
| spelling | doaj.art-7c260b96a97841f9872de59282f5ab9c2024-03-12T04:16:18ZengElsevierBrain Stimulation1935-861X2024-03-01172312320Transcranial focused ultrasound of the amygdala modulates fear network activation and connectivityTina Chou0Thilo Deckersbach1Bastien Guerin2Karianne Sretavan Wong3Benjamin M. Borron4Anish Kanabar5Ashley N. Hayden6Marina P. Long7Mohammad Daneshzand8Edward F. Pace-Schott9Darin D. Dougherty10Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA; Corresponding author. Massachusetts General Hospital, 149 13th Street, Office 10.082, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA.Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USADepartment of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USADepartment of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USADepartment of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USADepartment of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USADepartment of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USADepartment of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USADepartment of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USADepartment of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USADepartment of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USABackground: Current noninvasive brain stimulation methods are incapable of directly modulating subcortical brain regions critically involved in psychiatric disorders. Transcranial Focused Ultrasound (tFUS) is a newer form of noninvasive stimulation that could modulate the amygdala, a subcortical region implicated in fear. Objective: We investigated the effects of active and sham tFUS of the amygdala on fear circuit activation, skin conductance responses (SCR), and self-reported anxiety during a fear-inducing task. We also investigated amygdala tFUS’ effects on amygdala-fear circuit resting-state functional connectivity. Methods: Thirty healthy individuals were randomized in this double-blinded study to active or sham tFUS of the left amygdala. We collected fMRI scans, SCR, and self-reported anxiety during a fear-inducing task (participants viewed red or green circles which indicated the risk of receiving an aversive stimulus), as well as resting-state scans, before and after tFUS. Results: Compared to sham tFUS, active tFUS was associated with decreased (pre to post tFUS) blood-oxygen-level-dependent fMRI activation in the amygdala (F(1,25) = 4.86, p = 0.04, η2 = 0.16) during the fear task, and lower hippocampal (F(1,27) = 4.41, p = 0.05, η2 = 0.14), and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (F(1,27) = 6.26, p = 0.02; η2 = 0.19) activation during the post tFUS fear task. The decrease in amygdala activation was correlated with decreased subjective anxiety (r = 0.62, p = 0.03). There was no group effect in SCR changes from pre to post tFUS (F(1,23) = 0.85, p = 0.37). The active tFUS group also showed decreased amygdala-insula (F(1,28) = 4.98, p = 0.03) and amygdala-hippocampal (F(1,28) = 7.14, p = 0.01) rsFC, and increased amygdala-ventromedial prefrontal cortex (F(1,28) = 3.52, p = 0.05) resting-state functional connectivity. Conclusions: tFUS can change functional connectivity and brain region activation associated with decreased anxiety. Future studies should investigate tFUS’ therapeutic potential for individuals with clinical levels of anxiety.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1935861X24000408Transcranial focused ultrasoundLow-intensity ultrasoundAmygdalaFearSkin conductance responseResting-state functional connectivity |
| spellingShingle | Tina Chou Thilo Deckersbach Bastien Guerin Karianne Sretavan Wong Benjamin M. Borron Anish Kanabar Ashley N. Hayden Marina P. Long Mohammad Daneshzand Edward F. Pace-Schott Darin D. Dougherty Transcranial focused ultrasound of the amygdala modulates fear network activation and connectivity Brain Stimulation Transcranial focused ultrasound Low-intensity ultrasound Amygdala Fear Skin conductance response Resting-state functional connectivity |
| title | Transcranial focused ultrasound of the amygdala modulates fear network activation and connectivity |
| title_full | Transcranial focused ultrasound of the amygdala modulates fear network activation and connectivity |
| title_fullStr | Transcranial focused ultrasound of the amygdala modulates fear network activation and connectivity |
| title_full_unstemmed | Transcranial focused ultrasound of the amygdala modulates fear network activation and connectivity |
| title_short | Transcranial focused ultrasound of the amygdala modulates fear network activation and connectivity |
| title_sort | transcranial focused ultrasound of the amygdala modulates fear network activation and connectivity |
| topic | Transcranial focused ultrasound Low-intensity ultrasound Amygdala Fear Skin conductance response Resting-state functional connectivity |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1935861X24000408 |
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