Virginia Tech researchers have developed a guide for using low-intensity, pulsed ultrasound to noninvasively stimulate intact brain circuits, which may one day lead to first-line therapies in combating life-threatening epileptic seizures.

They said the major advantage of using ultrasound for brain stimulation is spatial resolution at millimeter precision while being focused through the skull to deep-brain regions without the need for invasive brain surgery. It can also stimulate synaptic transmission between groups of neurons within the brain in a manner similar to conventional implanted stimulating electrodes, without generating significant heating of the brain tissue.

Questions to address: how ultrasound affects neurons on a molecular and cellular level, how to correct for impedance mismatches between skin and skull interfaces, and how to assure safety across different exposure times, applications, and disease states.

Ref.: Tufail Y, Yoshihiro A, Pati S, Li MM, Tyler WJ, Ultrasonic neuromodulation by brain stimulation with transcranial ultrasound, Nature Protocols, September 2011