Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33112507›Full record

ArticleCNS neuroscience & therapeutics2021

Low-intensity pulsed ultrasound ameliorates depression-like behaviors in a rat model of chronic unpredictable stress.

Jinniu Zhang, Hui Zhou, Jian Yang, Jun Jia, Lili Niu, Zuoli Sun, Dandan Shi, Long Meng, Weibao Qiu, Xiaomin Wang and 2 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in CNS neuroscience & therapeutics, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
20citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
1.8field-weighted citation impact, top 15% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

20 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 46 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Review
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Emerging Therapeutic Interventions for Treatment‑Resistant Depression.Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2026
    Review
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  7. Article
  8. Review
  9. Review
  10. Article
  11. Review
  12. Review
  13. Review
  14. Review
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Animal models for the study of depressive disorder.CNS neuroscience & therapeutics · 2021
    Review
  18. Article
  19. Review
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Jinniu ZhangThe National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders & Beijing Key Laboratory of Mental Disorders, Beijing Anding Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
Hui ZhouPaul C. Lauterbur Research Center for Biomedical Imaging, Institute of Biomedical and Health Engineering, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China.
Jian YangThe National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders & Beijing Key Laboratory of Mental Disorders, Beijing Anding Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.ORCID 0000-0002-9125-2339
Jun JiaAdvanced Innovation Center for Human Brain Protection, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
Lili NiuPaul C. Lauterbur Research Center for Biomedical Imaging, Institute of Biomedical and Health Engineering, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China.
Zuoli SunThe National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders & Beijing Key Laboratory of Mental Disorders, Beijing Anding Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
Dandan ShiThe National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders & Beijing Key Laboratory of Mental Disorders, Beijing Anding Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
Long MengPaul C. Lauterbur Research Center for Biomedical Imaging, Institute of Biomedical and Health Engineering, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China.
Weibao QiuPaul C. Lauterbur Research Center for Biomedical Imaging, Institute of Biomedical and Health Engineering, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China.
Xiaomin WangAdvanced Innovation Center for Human Brain Protection, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
Hairong ZhengPaul C. Lauterbur Research Center for Biomedical Imaging, Institute of Biomedical and Health Engineering, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China.
Gang WangThe National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders & Beijing Key Laboratory of Mental Disorders, Beijing Anding Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
Capital Medical University · CNShenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionThere is an unmet need for better nonpharmaceutical treatments for depression. Low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS) is a novel type of neuromodulation that could be helpful for depressed patients.

objectiveThe goal of this study was to investigate the feasibility and potential mechanisms of LIPUS in the treatment of depression.

methodsChronic unpredictable stress (CUS) was used to generate rats with depression-like features that were treated with four weeks of LIPUS stimulation of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex. Depression-like behaviors were assessed with the sucrose preference, forced swim, and open field tests. BDNF/mTORC1 signaling was examined by Western blot to investigate this potential molecular mechanism. The safety of LIPUS was evaluated using hematoxylin-eosin and Nissl staining.

resultsFour weeks of LIPUS stimulation significantly increased sucrose preference and reduced forced swim immobility time in CUS rats. LIPUS also partially reversed the molecular effects of CUS that included decreased levels of BDNF, phosphorylated tyrosine receptor kinase B (TrkB), extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1), and S6 kinase (S6K). Moreover, histological staining revealed no gross tissue damage.

conclusionsChronic LIPUS stimulation can effectively and safely improve depression-like behaviors in CUS rats. The underlying mechanisms may be related to enhancement of BDNF/ERK/mTORC1 signaling pathways in the prefrontal cortex (PFC). LIPUS is a promising noninvasive neuromodulation tool that merits further study as a potential treatment for depression.

Indexed as

Disease Models, AnimalUltrasonic WavesAnimalsDepressionMaleRatsRats, Sprague-DawleyStress, PsychologicalUltrasonic Therapybrain-derived neurotrophic factordepressionlow-intensity pulsed ultrasoundmammalian target of rapamycin complex 1ventromedial prefrontal cortex

Identifiers

PMID33112507
PMCPMC7816209
OpenAlexW3095016875

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.