Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42245055›Full record

ArticlemedRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences2026

Thalamic sonication in chronic disorders of consciousness: a mechanistic single-arm clinical trial.

Martin M Monti, Amber R Hopkins, Norman M Spivak, Joshua A Cain, Jeannette Gumarang, David Patterson, Emily R Rosario, Caroline Schnakers

Abstract readPreprint
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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

8 authors.

Martin M MontiDepartment of Psychology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-5511-3780
Amber R HopkinsDepartment of Psychology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-8354-565X
Norman M SpivakBrain Injury Research Center (BIRC), Department of Neurosurgery, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-2386-2987
Joshua A CainDepartment of Psychology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-5788-4693
Jeannette GumarangCasa Colina Research Institute, Casa Colina Hospitals and Centers for Healthcare, Pomona, CA, USA.
David PattersonPhysical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Casa Colina Hospitals and Centers for Healthcare, Pomona, CA, USA.
Emily R RosarioCasa Colina Research Institute, Casa Colina Hospitals and Centers for Healthcare, Pomona, CA, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-1540-197X
Caroline SchnakersCasa Colina Research Institute, Casa Colina Hospitals and Centers for Healthcare, Pomona, CA, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-1143-0658

Funding

UCLA-Caltech Medical Scientist Training ProgramT32GM152342 · NIGMS · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES · PI Olujimi A Ajijola, David Wayne Dawson · 2024 to 2026
$5.3M
Predicting recovery after TBI: Development and comparison of MR-supplemented models using non-parametric and machine learning multimodal fusionR21EB034428 · NIBIB · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES · PI MONTI, MARTIN MAX · 2024 to 2024
$390k
Seeing Sound: Visualizing the Target of Transcranial Focused UltrasoundF30MH136802 · NIMH · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES · PI SPIVAK, NORMAN MITCHEL · 2024 to 2025
$83k
NIBIB NIH HHS R21 EB034428NIGMS NIH HHS T32 GM152342NIMH NIH HHS F30 MH136802
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Thalamic low-intensity transcranial focused ultrasound (tFUS) has shown promise for increasing behavioral responsiveness in disorders of consciousness (DOC), but no study has examined whether it can causally modulate the well-validated behavioral, electrophysiological, and metabolic biomarkers of DOC impairment. Methods: Sixteen adult patients (44% Female; Age, M=37.81, SD=15.97) with a chronic DOC (Time Since Injury, M=3.39, SD=1.94 years) secondary to severe brain injury (TBI 44%, non-TBI 56%) underwent a 10-day inpatient, longitudinal, single-arm, open-label protocol. tFUS was delivered in a single session targeting the left central thalamus. Well-known behavioral (CRS-R), electrophysiological (EEG δ/β ratio), metabolic (18F-FDG PET), and polysomnographic outcomes were assessed at baseline and after sonication. Results: The maximum CRS-R total score increased significantly following tFUS compared to baseline (M=13.27 vs. M=10.33; t(14)=7.407, p<0.001, d=1.913), as did the global EEG δ/β ratio (N=14; W=17, p=0.025, r=0.68), with the degree of frontal slowing positively predicting behavioral gains (τ Conclusion: Thalamic tFUS can causally modulate well-validated behavioral, electrophysiological, and metabolic biomarkers of DOC. The convergent inhibitory signature across these measures suggests a thalamocortical reset mechanism, complementing existing excitatory neuromodulation approaches and providing the mechanistic foundation for a large, randomized sham-controlled trial.

Indexed as

case seriesDisorders of Consciousness (DOC)thalamustranscranial Focused Ultrasound (tFUS)

Identifiers

PMID42245055
PMCPMC13232384

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
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.