ArticleNature communications2023
Transcranial focused ultrasound-mediated neurochemical and functional connectivity changes in deep cortical regions in humans.
Article in Nature communications, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 88 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
88 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 179 citations in OpenAlex.
- Ultrasound Applications in the Treatment of Major Depressive Disorder: A Systematic Review of Techniques and Therapeutic Potentials in Clinical Trials and Animal Model Studies.Neuromodulation : journal of the International Neuromodulation Society · 2026Pooled it
- Neuromodulation effects of low-intensity transcranial focused ultrasound in human, a systematic review focusing on motor and sensory functions.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation · 2025Pooled it
- Transcranial ultrasound stimulation parameters for neurological diseases: a systematic review.Frontiers in neurology · 2025Pooled it
- Multi-focal ultrasound neuromodulation to the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex disrupts behavioural and neural pain processing.Nature communications · 2026Trial
- Suppression of pathological oscillations with transcranial focused ultrasound in Parkinson's disease.Nature communications · 2026Trial
- Reversible modulation of a deep white matter surgical target for depression with low-intensity focused ultrasound.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2026Trial
- Exploring neural entrainment and synchrony in response to repeated 60 Hz flickering white light in healthy volunteers.PloS one · 2025Trial
- A pilot safety and tolerability study of scanning ultrasound as a neuromodulation therapy in Alzheimer's disease.Brain communications · 2025Trial
- Neurostimulation in the treatment of psychiatric disorders: Underlying mechanisms and critical analysis of circuit-based interventions.Molecular psychiatry · 2026Review
- Transcranial ultrasound stimulation of the pulvinar and globus pallidus internus facilitates visual search.iScience · 2026Article
- Neuromodulation techniques targeting neurotransmitter dysfunction: Innovation in treatments for Alzheimer's disease.Neural regeneration research · 2026Article
- Bayesian-enhanced closed-loop optimization of ultrasound protocols for targeted and precise neuromodulation.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Article
- Low-intensity transcranial ultrasound neuromodulation promotes neuronal regeneration: A new hope for noninvasive treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.Neural regeneration research · 2026Article
- Piezoelectric neuromodulation of the subthalamic nucleus ameliorates motor and nonmotor symptoms of Parkinson's disease.Science advances · 2026Article
- Ultrasound neuromodulation reveals distinct roles of the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and anterior insula in learning.PLoS biology · 2026Article
- The human amygdala in threat learning and extinction.Science advances · 2026Article
- Transcranial focused ultrasound induces source localizable cortical activation in resting state humans when applied concurrently with transcranial electric stimulation.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Low-Intensity Focused Ultrasound Neuromodulation in Psychiatric Disorders: Mechanisms, Models, and Missing Links.Biological psychiatry · 2026Review
- Rapid modulation of choice behavior by ultrasound on the human frontal eye fields.Nature communications · 2026Article
28 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Low-intensity transcranial ultrasound stimulation (TUS) is an emerging non-invasive technique for focally modulating human brain function. The mechanisms and neurochemical substrates underlying TUS neuromodulation in humans and how these relate to excitation and inhibition are still poorly understood. In 24 healthy controls, we separately stimulated two deep cortical regions and investigated the effects of theta-burst TUS, a protocol shown to increase corticospinal excitability, on the inhibitory neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and functional connectivity. We show that theta-burst TUS in humans selectively reduces GABA levels in the posterior cingulate, but not the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex. Functional connectivity increased following TUS in both regions. Our findings suggest that TUS changes overall excitability by reducing GABAergic inhibition and that changes in TUS-mediated neuroplasticity last at least 50 mins after stimulation. The difference in TUS effects on the posterior and anterior cingulate could suggest state- or location-dependency of the TUS effect-both mechanisms increasingly recognized to influence the brain's response to neuromodulation.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.