Targeted repair of neural pathways with focused ultrasonic waves

弱小或受损的神经通路与许多致残的神经和精神疾病有关，包括中风、神经退行性疾病和精神障碍，如抑郁症。该项目由犹他大学的研究人员领导，将使用通过头盖骨传递的聚焦超声波进行有效的神经康复。该系统和方法将使操作员能够调节人脑任何两个区域之间的连接，从而修复受损或削弱的神经通路。为了最大限度地发挥疗法的影响，该团队将利用研讨会和演示，让犹他州传统上获得尖端神经治疗机会有限的人群参与进来。从这些小组收集的反馈将为最终治疗工具的设计提供信息，优化系统对所有人的可用性，无论其社会经济地位如何。目前还没有工具能够以有针对性的方式对神经网络进行非侵入性修复。经颅聚焦超声有可能提供这样的工具，但没有系统和方法来调节神经连接。该项目团队由一名工程师、一名精神病学家和一名磁共振成像(MRI)科学家组成，他们设计了一种原型设备，可以将有效和安全水平的神经调节性超声波传递到人类大脑深处的目标。这个项目将把原型开发成一个可以同时刺激神经网络的两个节点的系统(目标1)，从而在适当的刺激计时方案(目标2)下促进Hebbian的可塑性。该团队将把这种双重刺激方案应用于人类扣带回皮质内的两个关键节点，并使用功能磁共振成像(FMRI)血氧水平依赖活动(BOLD)和扩散追踪成像来量化由此产生的连接性变化。该项目的成功完成将带来一种非侵入性修复神经回路的工具，有可能使许多受影响的个人重返工作和正常生活。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Weak or damaged neural pathways have been associated with many disabling neurological and mental conditions, including stroke, neurodegenerative disorders, and mental disorders such as depression. This project, led by researchers at the University of Utah, will use focused ultrasound, delivered through the cranium, for effective neurorehabilitation. The system and approach will enable operators to modulate the connection between any two regions of the human brain, and thus repair neural pathways that have been damaged or weakened. To maximize the impact of the therapies, the team will use seminars and demonstrations to engage human populations in Utah that have traditionally had limited access to cutting-edge neurological treatments. The feedback gathered from these groups will inform the design of the final therapeutic tools, optimizing the usability of the system for all persons regardless of socioeconomic status. There is currently no tool that would enable the noninvasive repair of neural networks in a targeted manner. Transcranial, focused ultrasound has the potential to provide such a tool, but there is no system and no approach for the modulation of neural connectivity. The project team, which consists of an engineer, a psychiatrist, and a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scientist, has designed a prototype device that can deliver effective and safe levels of neuromodulatory ultrasound into deep brain targets in humans. This project will develop the prototype into a system that can stimulate two nodes of a neural network simultaneously (Aim 1), thus promoting Hebbian plasticity under an appropriate stimulation-timing protocol (Aim 2). The team will apply this dual stimulation protocol to two key nodes within the cingulate cortex in humans, and quantify the resulting changes in connectivity using functional MRI (fMRI) blood-oxygenation-level-dependent activity (BOLD) and diffusion tractography. Successful completion of the project will result in a tool for the noninvasive repair of neural circuits with the potential to enable many affected individuals to return to work and normal life.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.