I’ve mentioned in the past about scientists using transcranial magnetic stimulation and transcranial direct current stimulation as methods to improve brain injury associated with stroke. These are non-invasive brain stimulation techniques that could improve a variety of brain disorders and brain injuries. Recently, for instance, transcranial magnetic stimulation has been used to awaken a coma victim.
At first, there was little change in Villa’s condition, but after around 15 sessions something happened. “You started talking to him and he would turn his head and look at you,” says McAndrews. “That was huge.”
So these are very powerful and selective tools that can do all sorts of interesting things. They can selectively alter the functioning of the brain and have relatively few side effects associated with there use.
What about the future of brain manipulation? Recently, scientists have used ultrasound to modify the functioning of the brain.
In a twist on nontraditional uses of ultrasound, a group of neuroscientists at Arizona State University has developed pulsed ultrasound techniques that can remotely stimulate brain circuit activity. Their findings, published in the Oct. 29 issue of the journal Public Library of Science (PLoS) One, provide insights into how low-power ultrasound can be harnessed for the noninvasive neurostimulation of brain circuits and offers the potential for new treatments of brain disorders and disease.
Ultrasound is has a much better targeting accuracy than transcranial magnetic stimulation. It can selectively excite brain regions that are 1 mm in size while transcranial magnetic stimulation only has a focal range of 1 cm or greater. Ultrasound can also non-invasively stimulate almost any brain region. Whereas current transcranial magnetic stimulation is limitied to 1-2 cm from a person’s skull.
US may be able to confer a spatial resolution similar to those achieved by currently implemented neuromodulation strategies such as vagal nerve stimulation and DBS, which have been shown to possess high therapeutic value
With this type of neuromodulation power scientists may be able to excite or inhibit any brain regions. This would allow a selective way of altering the brain through neuroplastic mechanisms.
