Application of subject-specific helmets for the study of human visuomotor behavior using transcranial focused ultrasound: a pilot study.
Application of subject-specific helmets for the study of human visuomotor behavior using transcranial focused ultrasound: a pilot study.
复制标题
应用特定主题头盔使用经颅聚焦超声研究人类视觉运动行为：一项试点研究。
DOI：
10.1016/j.cmpb.2022.107127
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发表时间：
2022
影响因子：
6.1
通讯作者：
Park TY
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Park TY
背景与目的经颅聚焦超声(TFUS)作为一种新型的无创脑刺激方法，因其优越的空间特异性和深度穿透性而受到越来越多的关注。由于tFUS的焦点在刺激过程中需要精确地定位到目标脑区，因此关键问题是识别和保持tFUS换能器相对于受试者头部的准确位置和方向。本研究旨在结合作者先前提出的tFUS换能器结构优化方法和特定对象的3D打印头盔，提出tFUS刺激的完整框架，并在人类行为神经调节研究中验证这一完整设置。方法采用基于特定对象tFUS波束线模拟的数值方法，寻找tFUS换能器的最佳配置。然后，特定对象的3D打印头盔已被应用，以有效地将换能器固定在估计的最佳配置。为了验证这一tFUS框架，我们选择了一个常见的行为神经调节范式：刺激背外侧前额叶皮质(DLPFC)对抗眼跳(AS)行为的影响。当被试(n=2)执行任务时，在注视靶点消失后立即对左侧DLPFC进行tFUS刺激。结果神经调节结果强烈表明，使用所提出的tFUS设置的皮层刺激在显著降低抗扫视的错误率方面是有效的(S1为-10%p，S2为-16%p)，而对潜伏期没有显著影响。这些观察到的行为效应与之前基于常规脑刺激或病变研究的结果一致。结论所提出的特定对象的tFUS框架已有效地应用于人类神经调节研究。结果提示，针对DLPFC的tFUS刺激可对AS行为产生神经调节作用。
Background and objectiveAs a novel non-invasive human brain stimulation method, transcranial focused ultrasound (tFUS) is receiving growing attention due to its superior spatial specificity and depth penetrability. Since the focal point of tFUS needs to be fixated precisely to the target brain region during stimulation, a critical issue is to identify and maintain the accurate position and orientation of the tFUS transducer relative to the subject's head. This study aims to propose the entire framework of tFUS stimulation integrating the methods previously proposed by the authors for tFUS transducer configuration optimization and a subject-specific 3D-printed helmet, and to validate this complete setup in a human behavioral neuromodulation study.MethodsTo find the optimal configuration of the tFUS transducer, a numerical method based on subject-specific tFUS beamlines simulation was used. Then, the subject-specific 3D-printed helmet has been applied to effectively secure the transducer at the estimated optimal configuration. To validate this tFUS framework, a common behavioral neuromodulation paradigm was chosen; the effect of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) stimulation on anti-saccade (AS) behavior. While human participants (n=2) were performing AS tasks, tFUS stimulations were randomly applied to the left DLPFC right after the fixation target disappeared.ResultsThe neuromodulation result strongly suggests that the cortical stimulation using the proposed tFUS setup is effective in significantly reducing the error rates of anti-saccades (about -10 %p for S1 and -16 %p for S2), whereas no significant effect was observed on their latencies. These observed behavioral effects are consistent with the previous results based on conventional brain stimulation or lesion studies.ConclusionsThe proposed subject-specific tFUS framework has been effectively used in human neuromodulation study. The result suggests that the tFUS stimulation targeted to the DLPFC can generate a neuromodulatory effect on AS behavior.