Transcranial ultrasound stimulation effect in the redundant and synergistic networks consistent across macaques
Marilyn Gatica, Cyril Atkinson-Clement, Pedro A. M. Mediano, Mohammad Alkhawashki, James Ross, Jérôme Sallet, Marcus Kaiser
Network Neuroscience 2024 · 10.1162/netn_a_00388
Abstract
Low-intensity transcranial ultrasound stimulation (TUS) is a noninvasive technique that safely alters neural activity, reaching deep brain areas with good spatial accuracy. We investigated the effects of TUS in macaques using a recent metric, the synergy minus redundancy rank gradient, which quantifies different kinds of neural information processing. We analyzed this high-order quantity on the fMRI data after TUS in two targets: the supplementary motor area (SMA-TUS) and the frontal polar cortex (FPC-TUS). The TUS produced specific changes at the limbic network at FPC-TUS and the motor network at SMA-TUS and altered the sensorimotor, temporal, and frontal networks in both targets, mostly consistent across macaques. Moreover, there was a reduction in the structural and functional coupling after both stimulations. Finally, the TUS changed the intrinsic high-order network topology, decreasing the modular organization of the redundancy at SMA-TUS and increasing the synergistic integration at FPC-TUS.
Abstract via europepmc.
Exposures
Exposure 1: SMA-TUS
Target: supplementary motor area — “supplementary motor area (SMA)”
Device: Sonic Concepts · Sonic Concepts · H115-MR ✓
| Waveform | pulsed | |
|---|---|---|
| Fundamental frequency (kHz) | 250 | ✓✓✓ |
| Pulse duration (ms) | 30 | ✓✓✓⚑ |
| Pulse repetition frequency (Hz) | 10 | ✓✓✓ |
| Duty cycle (%) | not reportedpulse duration × PRF gives 30% | |
| Sonication duration (s) | 40 | ✓✓✓ |
| Free-field pressure (kPa) | 1,170, 1,350swept | ✓✓✓⚑ |
|---|---|---|
| Free-field Isppa (W/cm²) | not reported | |
| Free-field Ispta (W/cm²) | not reported | |
| In-situ estimate | not reported | |
| In-situ pressure (kPa) | 880 | ✓✓✓ |
| In-situ Isppa (W/cm²) | 24.1 | ✓✓✓ |
| In-situ Ispta (W/cm²) | 7.2 | ✓✓✓ |
30-ms bursts of ultrasound every 100 ms for 40 s, both hemispheres at once with a single train, offline TUS then fMRI; at least 10 days between TUS sessions.
Exposure 2: FPC-TUS
Target: anterior prefrontal cortex — “frontal polar cortex (FPC)”
Device: Sonic Concepts · Sonic Concepts · H115-MR ✓
| Waveform | pulsed | |
|---|---|---|
| Fundamental frequency (kHz) | 250 | ✓✓✓ |
| Pulse duration (ms) | 30 | ✓✓✓ |
| Pulse repetition frequency (Hz) | 10 | ✓✓✓ |
| Duty cycle (%) | not reportedpulse duration × PRF gives 30% | |
| Sonication duration (s) | 40 | ✓✓✓ |
| Free-field pressure (kPa) | 1,170, 1,350swept | ✓✓✓ |
|---|---|---|
| Free-field Isppa (W/cm²) | not reported | |
| Free-field Ispta (W/cm²) | not reported | |
| In-situ estimate | not reported | |
| In-situ pressure (kPa) | not reported | |
| In-situ Isppa (W/cm²) | 31.7 | ✓✓✓ |
| In-situ Ispta (W/cm²) | 9.5 | ✓✓✓ |
30-ms bursts of ultrasound every 100 ms for 40 s, both hemispheres at once with a single train, offline TUS then fMRI; at least 10 days between TUS sessions.
Flags from extraction
exposures[0].free_field.pressure_kpa— Pressure range 1.17-1.35 MPa is given for voltage range across sessions and is not assigned to a target; it applies to both exposures. Disagrees with 0.88 MPa Pmax stated for SMA.exposures[0].unspecified_domain.pressure_kpa— 0.88 MPa 'maximum peak pressure at the acoustic focus point estimation'; domain not stated.exposures[1].unspecified_domain.isppa_w_cm2— FPC intensities given without a domain; no FPC pressure stated separately.exposures[0].timing.pulse_duration_ms— 30-ms bursts every 100 ms; burst taken as the pulse. Duty cycle not stated.n_subjects— Secondary analysis of an earlier macaque dataset (Verhagen et al. 2019); stimulation details are quoted from the present methods.n_sessions_per_subject— Three MRI sessions per condition per macaque are described; TUS session count not stated plainly.