Transcranial ultrasound stimulation modulates neural activity of paraventricular thalamus and prefrontal cortex in the propofol-anesthetized mice
Guangying Cui, Yi Yuan, Qiaoxuan Wang, Li Zhao, Cheng Chi, Liqiang Zhao, Zhuo Liu
Journal of Neural Engineering 2025 · 10.1088/1741-2552/ade28f
Abstract
Objective. Transcranial ultrasound stimulation (TUS) has been reported to modulate neural activity and accelerate the recovery of consciousness (ROC) in the propofol-anesthetized mice. Both the thalamus and frontal cortex play critical roles in anesthetic-induced transition of consciousness (TOC). Approach. Twenty-one male BALB/c mice were randomly divided into the Sham group ( n = 7), the TUS1 group ( n = 7) and the TUS2 group ( n = 7). The thalamus of mice in the two TUS groups were subjected to TUS before or after anesthesia, respectively. Local field potentials of paraventricular thalamus (PVT) and prefrontal cortex (PFC) were recorded using electrophysiological techniques. The relative change of mean absolute power and relative power in different frequency bands for each brain region were calculated and analyzed for correlation. Main results. Compared to the Sham group (33.14 ± 0.46 min), the time of ROC was shorter in both the TUS1 group (19.86 ± 0.59 min) and TUS2 group (17.86 ± 0.86 min). Besides, the results showed that TUS could directly induce neural activity in the PVT and indirectly in the PFC in the [60-100 Hz] frequency band. Furthermore, we also found that there were higher pearson correlation coefficients of neural activity between PVT and PFC in the [8-13 Hz] frequency band under TUS ( P Significance. Both the PVT and PFC contribute to TOC in propofol-anesthetized mice, and they can be effectively modulated by TUS, which may provide a guidance for the modulation of consciousness in clinical anesthesia.
Abstract via europepmc.
Exposures
Exposure 1: TUS to paraventricular thalamus (before or after propofol)
Target: thalamus — “paraventricular thalamus (PVT)”
Device: Olympus / Panametrics · Olympus · V301-SU ✓
| Waveform | pulsed | |
|---|---|---|
| Fundamental frequency (kHz) | 500 | ✓✓✓ |
| Pulse duration (ms) | 50 | ✓✓✓⚑ |
| Pulse repetition frequency (Hz) | 1 | ✓✓✓ |
| Duty cycle (%) | 5pulse duration × PRF gives 5% | ✓✓✓ |
| Sonication duration (s) | 1,200 | ✓✓✓⚑ |
| Free-field pressure (kPa) | not reported | |
|---|---|---|
| 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) | not reported | |
| In-situ Ispta (W/cm²) | not reported | |
| Pressure, domain unspecified (kPa) | 510 | ✓✓✓⚑ |
| Isppa, domain unspecified (W/cm²) | 8.67 | ✓✓✓ |
| Ispta, domain unspecified (W/cm²) | 0.43 | ✓✓✓ |
Fundamental frequency 500 kHz, PRF 1 Hz, duty cycle 5% and stimulation duration 50 ms; total stimulation time 20 min per mouse. TUS1 was given before anaesthesia and TUS2 once loss of consciousness was confirmed.
Flags from extraction
exposures[0].timing.pulse_duration_ms— Paper lists a 'stimulation duration' of 50 ms; with PRF 1 Hz and DC 5% this is the pulse duration (resolved by arithmetic, burst rule).exposures[0].timing.sonication_duration_s— Recorded as total stimulation time per mouse (20 min = 1200 s), as the paper gives no other train length.n_subjects— 21 mice in three groups of 7; exposed groups are TUS1 and TUS2 (7 each); total exposed not stated.exposures[0].unspecified_domain.pressure_kpa— Pressure 0.51 MPa 'at these parameters'; domain not stated; peak vs RMS not stated.exposures[0].device.family— Transducer V301-SU, Olympus, USA.readout_timing— TUS1 delivered before signal acquisition; TUS2 during anaesthesia with recording; timing relative to sonication not explicit.exposures[0].target.terms— PVT is paraventricular thalamus; mapped to thalamus. Electrode coordinates given; TUS aimed with a collimator.