ArticleFrontiers in human neuroscience2024
Non-invasive suppression of the human nucleus accumbens (NAc) with transcranial focused ultrasound (tFUS) modulates the reward network: a pilot study.
Article in Frontiers in human neuroscience, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 32 citations in OpenAlex.
- 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
- Low-intensity transcranial focused ultrasound amygdala neuromodulation: a double-blind sham-controlled target engagement study and unblinded single-arm clinical trial.Molecular psychiatry · 2025Trial
- Focused ultrasound neuromodulation for psychiatric disorders: a scoping review of clinical applications and current progress.Journal of neural transmission (Vienna, Austria : 1996) · 2026Review
- Low-Intensity Focused Ultrasound Neuromodulation in Psychiatric Disorders: Mechanisms, Models, and Missing Links.Biological psychiatry · 2026Review
- Treatment of alcohol use disorder via magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound ablation surgery.Addiction science & clinical practice · 2026Article
- From Ablation to Neuromodulation Platform: The Evolving Role of Magnetic Resonance-Guided Focused Ultrasound in Functional Neurosurgery.Journal of clinical neurology (Seoul, Korea) · 2026Review
- Transcranial Ultrasound Stimulation as an Emerging Treatment for Substance use Disorder: Promise and Precaution.Current addiction reports · 2026Review
- Neuromodulation with Ultrasound: Hypotheses on the Directionality of Effects and Community Resource.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2025Article
- Research hotspots and frontiers of neuromodulation technology in the last decade: a visualization analysis based on the Web of Science database.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2025Review
- Investigating low intensity focused ultrasound pulsation in anhedonic depression-A randomized controlled trial.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2025Article
- A Comprehensive Review of Low-Intensity Focused Ultrasound Parameters and Applications in Neurologic and Psychiatric Disorders.Neuromodulation : journal of the International Neuromodulation Society · 2025Review
- Article
- Alterations in large-scale resting-state network nodes following transcranial focused ultrasound of deep brain structures.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2024Article
- Feasibility and acceptability of wearing a neuromodulation device at night in individuals in recovery from opioid use disorder.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2024Article
- The therapeutic potential of low-intensity focused ultrasound for treating substance use disorder.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: The nucleus accumbens (NAc) is a key node of the brain reward circuit driving reward-related behavior. Dysregulation of NAc has been demonstrated to contribute to pathological markers of addiction in substance use disorder (SUD) making it a potential therapeutic target for brain stimulation. Transcranial focused ultrasound (tFUS) is an emerging non-invasive brain stimulation approach that can modulate deep brain regions with a high spatial resolution. However, there is currently no evidence showing how the brain activity of NAc and brain functional connectivity within the reward network neuromodulated by tFUS on the NAc. Methods: In this pilot study, we carried out a single-blind, sham-controlled clinical trial using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate the underlying mechanism of tFUS neuromodulating the reward network through NAc in ten healthy adults. Specifically, the experiment consists of a 20-min concurrent tFUS/fMRI scan and two 24-min resting-state fMRI before and after the tFUS session. Results: Firstly, our results demonstrated the feasibility and safety of 20-min tFUS on NAc. Additionally, our findings demonstrated that bilateral NAc was inhibited during tFUS on the left NAc compared to sham. Lastly, increased functional connectivity between the NAc and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) was observed after tFUS on the left NAc, but no changes for the sham group. Conclusion: Delivering tFUS to the NAc can modulate brain activations and functional connectivity within the reward network. These preliminary findings suggest that tFUS could be potentially a promising neuromodulation tool for the direct and non-invasive management of the NAc and shed new light on the treatment for SUD and other brain diseases that involve reward processing.
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