School of Electrical Engineering, Yanshan University, Qinhuangdao 066004, China; Key Laboratory of Intelligent Rehabilitation and Neuromodulation of Hebei Province, Yanshan University, Qinhuangdao 066004, China.
Neuroscience Institute, NYU Langone Health, New York 10016, USA.
Neuroimage. 2023 Dec 1;283:120423. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2023.120423. Epub 2023 Oct 24.
The present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of closed-loop transcranial ultrasound stimulation (closed-loop TUS) as a non-invasive, high temporal-spatial resolution method for modulating brain function to enhance memory. For this purpose, we applied closed-loop TUS to the CA1 region of the rat hippocampus for 7 consecutive days at different phases of theta cycles. Following the intervention, we evaluated memory performance through behavioral testing and recorded the neural activity. Our results indicated that closed-loop TUS applied at the peak phase of theta cycles significantly improves the memory performance in rats, as evidenced by behavioral testing. Furthermore, we observed that closed-loop TUS modifies the power and cross-frequency coupling strength of local field potentials (LFPs) during memory task, as well as modulates neuronal activity patterns and synaptic transmission, depending on phase of stimulation relative to theta rhythm. We demonstrated that closed-loop TUS can modulate neural activity and memory performance in a phase-dependent manner. Specifically, we observed that effectiveness of closed-loop TUS in regulating neural activity and memory is dependent on the timing of stimulation in relation to different theta phase. The findings implied that closed-loop TUS may have the capability to alter neural activity and memory performance in a phase-sensitive manner, and suggested that the efficacy of closed-loop TUS in modifying neural activity and memory was contingent on timing of stimulation with respect to the theta rhythm. Moreover, the improvement in memory performance after closed-loop TUS was found to be persistent.
本研究旨在探讨闭环经颅超声刺激（闭环 TUS）作为一种非侵入性、高时空分辨率的方法调节大脑功能以增强记忆的有效性。为此，我们在 7 天内每天在大鼠海马体 CA1 区的不同θ周期相位应用闭环 TUS。干预后，我们通过行为测试评估记忆表现并记录神经活动。我们的结果表明，在θ周期的峰值相位应用闭环 TUS 可显著改善大鼠的记忆表现，这一点通过行为测试得到了证明。此外，我们观察到，闭环 TUS 可以在记忆任务期间改变局部场电位（LFPs）的功率和交叉频率耦合强度，以及调节神经元活动模式和突触传递，这取决于刺激相对于θ节律的相位。我们证明，闭环 TUS 可以以依赖于相位的方式调节神经活动和记忆表现。具体而言，我们观察到，闭环 TUS 调节神经活动和记忆的有效性取决于刺激与不同θ相位的时间关系。这些发现表明，闭环 TUS 可能具有以相位敏感的方式改变神经活动和记忆表现的能力，并表明闭环 TUS 调节神经活动和记忆的功效取决于刺激相对于θ节律的时间。此外，闭环 TUS 后记忆表现的改善被发现是持久的。
