Dynamical and individualised approach of transcranial ultrasound neuromodulation effects in non-human primates.
Atkinson-Clement C., Alkhawashki M., Ross J., Gatica M., Zhang C., Sallet J., Kaiser M.
Low-frequency transcranial ultrasound stimulation (TUS) allows to alter brain functioning with a high spatial resolution and to reach deep targets. However, the time-course of TUS effects remains largely unknown. We applied TUS on three brain targets for three different monkeys: the anterior medial prefrontal cortex, the supplementary motor area and the perigenual anterior cingulate cortex. For each, one resting-state fMRI was acquired between 30 and 150 min after TUS as well as one without stimulation (control). We captured seed-based brain connectivity changes dynamically and on an individual basis. We also assessed between individuals and between targets homogeneity and brain features that predicted TUS changes. We found that TUS prompts heterogenous functional connectivity alterations yet retain certain consistent changes; we identified 6 time-courses of changes including transient and long duration alterations; with a notable degree of accuracy we found that brain alterations could partially be predicted. Altogether, our results highlight that TUS induces heterogeneous functional connectivity alterations. On a more technical point, we also emphasize the need to consider brain changes over-time rather than just observed during a snapshot; to consider inter-individual variability since changes could be highly different from one individual to another.