Researchers at the University of Plymouth and the University of Exeter report that low‑intensity transcranial ultrasound stimulation (TUS) targeted to the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) produced a delayed reduction in experimentally induced pain. The work, published in Nature Communications, found participants reported lower pain from 28 to 55 minutes after stimulation.
During sessions participants kept their right hand in a cold gel to produce pain while receiving TUS to the dACC, a brain region implicated in pain processing. They rated pain repeatedly during and after stimulation. The team ran MRI and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) scans during the same period to track functional and biochemical changes.
TUS did not change pain intensity immediately during stimulation, the authors say. But pain ratings fell significantly in the 28–55 minute window after TUS, suggesting a delayed analgesic effect. The study also reported altered connectivity between the targeted dACC and other parts of the brain’s pain network and measured biochemical changes with MRS.
“The study aimed to characterize how transcranial ultrasound stimulation interacts with—and potentially also alters—the brain's processing of pain,” said Dr Sophie Clarke, the study's lead author. “Understanding these mechanisms will be very important to support the next steps in understanding whether the stimulation can be effective in helping patients with chronic pain.”
Professor Elsa Fouragnan, director of Plymouth’s Brain Research and Imaging Center and CENTUS, said the findings lay groundwork for clinical testing: “Most of us know someone experiencing chronic pain, and there are very few treatments that deliver any form of long-term benefit. The findings of this new work are really promising, and we are already building on it to assess whether TUS could be a beneficial and noninvasive therapeutic treatment.”
Dr Sam Hughes of the University of Exeter described the study as an early step toward noninvasive stimulation of deep pain regions: “We found that targeting a specific brain region involved in pain processing can alter how pain is perceived and change how this area communicates with other parts of the brain's pain network.”
The authors frame the study as a mechanistic proof of concept rather than a clinical trial. They say the next stage is to test whether TUS can relieve chronic pain in patients with conditions such as fibromyalgia, back pain or arthritis.
Photo credit: scx2.b-cdn.net
Tags: transcranial ultrasound, dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, chronic pain, MRI, neuromodulation
Topics: Non-invasive brain stimulation, Neuromodulation, Neuroscience & neuroplasticity