Gentle focused ultrasound to change deep brain connections
Official title: Dose-Dependent Functional Connectivity Effects of Low-Intensity Focused Ultrasound Applied to Deep White Matter Tracts in Humans
Funded at Laureate Institute for Brain Research · NIH-11234316 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project sees whether short bursts of low-intensity focused ultrasound can temporarily alter communication along deep brain pathways in healthy adults.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R21 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Laureate Institute for Brain Research NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Tulsa, United States) |
| Project start | December 1, 2024 |
| Project end | November 30, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $215,569 |
| NIH project number | 5R21MH138911-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11234316 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are healthy adults aged 21 or older who can undergo MRI and are willing to travel to the Tulsa research site.
✕Less likely to help
People seeking immediate treatment benefit, those with implanted medical devices, certain neurological conditions, or those who cannot have an MRI are unlikely to receive direct benefit from participation.
What this research studies
If you join, you'll be one of 60 healthy adults who receive small doses of gentle focused ultrasound aimed at deep white matter tracts that connect the thalamus with frontal regions. Participants are randomly assigned to two different ultrasound doses and receive MRI scans before and after the sessions to track changes in brain connectivity. The team measures how long and how strongly the ultrasound changes signaling using resting-state fMRI and carefully controlled sonication settings. The plan builds on a pilot that showed a single sonication can temporarily disconnect connected brain regions.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could provide a noninvasive way to adjust deep brain circuits and inform new treatments for mood and other brain disorders.
How similar studies have gone: Laboratory work and early human studies have shown LIFU can change gray matter activity and a pilot found white-matter effects, but systematic dose-response testing in white matter is still new.
Where this research is happening
-
Laureate Institute for Brain Research
Tulsa, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Guinjoan, Salvador Martin — Laureate Institute for Brain Research
- Study coordinator: Guinjoan, Salvador Martin
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.