ArticleBrain stimulation
Disrupting nociceptive information processing flow through transcranial focused ultrasound neuromodulation of thalamic nuclei.
Article in Brain stimulation. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 22 citations in OpenAlex.
- Neuromodulation of the central nervous system for facial pain.Neurotherapeutics : the journal of the American Society for Experimental NeuroTherapeutics · 2026Pooled it
- The efficacy and mechanisms of low-intensity transcranial ultrasound stimulation on pain: a systematic review of human and animal studies.The journal of headache and pain · 2025Pooled it
- Transcranial focused ultrasound modulates spiking, LFP, and BOLD activity in the primate thalamus.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Medial prefrontal cortex-targeted low-intensity focused ultrasound alleviates migraine-related allodynia and affective symptoms via modulating glutamate/GABA balance in mice.The journal of headache and pain · 2026Article
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging Monitoring of the Safety of Repeated Low-Intensity Focused Ultrasound Exposure at Three Brain Locations.Neuromodulation : journal of the International Neuromodulation Society · 2026Article
- Emerging Nonpharmacologic Analgesic Technologies in Anesthesia: Mechanisms, Evidence, and Future Directions for Pharmacologic Alternatives.Biomedicines · 2026Review
- From network hub to therapeutic target: the role of mediodorsal thalamic nucleus in epilepsy.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2026Review
- Alternating-contrast single-shot spiral MR-ARFI with model-based displacement map reconstruction.Magnetic resonance in medicine · 2026Article
- Topological properties of brain networks in patients with hemiplegic shoulder pain: a functional magnetic resonance imaging study.BMC neurology · 2025Article
- Magnetic Resonance Acoustic Radiation Force Imaging (MR-ARFI).Journal of magnetic resonance imaging : JMRI · 2025Review
- Biochemical strategies for opioid-sparing pain management in the operating room.Biochemistry and biophysics reports · 2025Review
- Modulating nociception networks: the impact of low-intensity focused ultrasound on thalamocortical connectivity.Brain communications · 2025Article
- The safety and feasibility of transcranial direct current stimulation combined with conservative treatment for patients with cervicogenic headaches: A double-blinded randomized control study protocol.Contemporary clinical trials communications · 2024Article
- Practical Targeting Errors During Optically Tracked Transcranial Focused Ultrasound Using MR-ARFI and Array- Based Steering.IEEE transactions on bio-medical engineering · 2024Article
- Anatomo-physiological basis and applied techniques of electrical neuromodulation in chronic pain.Journal of anesthesia, analgesia and critical care · 2024Review
- Low-intensity focused ultrasound to the posterior insula reduces temporal summation of pain.Brain stimulationArticle
- Cell-type-specific bidirectional modulation of the cortico-thalamo-cortical sensory pathway by transcranial focused ultrasound (tFUS).Brain stimulationArticle
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Authors and funding
12 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundMRI-guided transcranial focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) as a next-generation neuromodulation tool can precisely target and stimulate deep brain regions with high spatial selectivity. Combined with MR-ARFI (acoustic radiation force imaging) and using fMRI BOLD signal as functional readouts, our previous studies have shown that low-intensity FUS can excite or suppress neural activity in the somatosensory cortex.
objectiveTo investigate whether low-intensity FUS can suppress nociceptive heat stimulation-induced responses in thalamic nuclei during hand stimulation, and to determine how this suppression influences the information processing flow within nociception networks.
findingsBOLD fMRI activations evoked by 47.5 °C heat stimulation of hand were detected in 24 cortical regions, which belong to sensory, affective, and cognitive nociceptive networks. Concurrent delivery of low-intensity FUS pulses (650 kHz, 550 kPa) to the predefined heat nociceptive stimulus-responsive thalamic centromedial_parafascicular (CM_para), mediodorsal (MD), ventral_lateral (VL_ and ventral_lateral_posteroventral (VLpv) nuclei suppressed their heat responses. Off-target cortical areas exhibited reduced, enhanced, or no significant fMRI signal changes, depending on the specific areas. Differentiable thalamocortical information flow during the processing of nociceptive heat input was observed, as indicated by the time to reach 10% or 30% of the heat-evoked BOLD signal peak. Suppression of thalamic heat responses significantly altered nociceptive processing flow and direction between the thalamus and cortical areas. Modulation of contralateral versus ipsilateral areas by unilateral thalamic activity differed. Signals detected in high-order cortical areas, such as dorsal frontal (DFC) and ventrolateral prefrontal (vlPFC) cortices, exhibited faster response latencies than sensory areas.
conclusionsThe concurrent delivery of FUS suppressed nociceptive heat response in thalamic nuclei and disrupted the nociceptive network. This study offers new insights into the causal functional connections within the thalamocortical networks and demonstrates the modulatory effects of low-intensity FUS on nociceptive information processing.
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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.