Psychiatric Archives - Focused Ultrasound Foundation

Tourette Syndrome

mmayes — Tue, 22 Apr 2025 19:50:31 +0000

Focused Ultrasound Therapy

Focused ultrasound is a rapidly evolving, therapeutic technology that could transform the quality of life and decrease the cost of care for patients with Tourette Syndrome. This novel technology focuses beams of ultrasound energy precisely and accurately on targets deep in the body without damaging surrounding normal tissue.

How it Works
Where the beams converge, focused ultrasound produces several therapeutic effects that are being evaluated. One is to treat the target with thermal ablation. This has been reported by the Shanghai International Medical Center. Another possible approach is to target the thalamus with low intensity focused ultrasound. There is currently no FDA or equivalent international approval for this treatment, so it is an item being evaluated in clinical trials.

The primary options for treatment of Tourette Syndrome are very limited. For certain patients, focused ultrasound could provide an effective addition to conventional therapy. While significant work has been accomplished, there is still much to be done before this technology will be widely available.

Advantages

Focused ultrasound is non-invasive, so it does not carry added concerns like surgical wound healing or infection.

Focused ultrasound can reach the desired target without damaging surrounding tissue.

It can be repeated, if necessary.

Clinical Trials

At the present time, there are no clinical trials recruiting patients for focused ultrasound treatment of Tourette Syndrome.

The Foundation updates these pages regularly, but with the increasing number of clinical trials, we want to be sure that our audience has the latest information available. Therefore, we also added the website search information for the above trials. If you click here, it will take you to the latest information available from https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/.

Find a Treatment Site

Search for a treatment center or clinical trial near you.

Regulatory Approval and Reimbursement

Focused ultrasound treatment for Tourette Syndrome is not yet approved by regulatory bodies or covered by medical insurance companies.

Notable Papers

Martin E, Roberts M, Grigoras IF, Wright O, Nandi T, Rieger SW, Campbell J, den Boer T, Cox BT, Stagg CJ, Treeby BE. Ultrasound system for precise neuromodulation of human deep brain circuits. Nat Commun. 2025 Sep 5;16(1):8024. doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-63020-1. PMID: 40913042 

Vogt L, Quiroz V, Ebrahimi-Fakhari D. Emerging therapies for childhood-onset movement disorders. Curr Opin Pediatr. 2024 Jun 1;36(3):331-341. doi: 10.1097/MOP.0000000000001354. Epub 2024 Apr 4. PMID: 38655812

Reddy A, Hosseini MR, Patel A, Sharaf R, Reddy V, Tabarestani A, Lucke-Wold B. Deep brain stimulation, lesioning, focused ultrasound: update on utility. AIMS Neurosci. 2023 Apr 26;10(2):87-108. doi: 10.3934/Neuroscience.2023007. eCollection 2023. PMID: 37426775 

Click here for additional references from PubMed.

Anxiety

mmayes — Fri, 08 Dec 2023 19:43:36 +0000

Focused Ultrasound Therapy

Focused ultrasound is a therapeutic technology that could transform the quality of life and decrease the cost of care for patients with anxiety. This novel technology focuses beams of ultrasound energy precisely and accurately on targets in the body without damaging surrounding normal tissue.

How it Works
Where the beams converge, focused ultrasound produces several therapeutic effects that are being evaluated. One is to use low intensity neuromodulation which can be aimed at various locations including the amygdala or the ventral striatum, with the goal of modulating the impact of stimulations to reduce anxiety. A second approach is to use high frequency energy to create a lesion in the anterior nucleus.

The primary options for treatment of anxiety include medication, but it is often limited in its success.

Advantages
For certain patients, focused ultrasound could provide a noninvasive alternative to surgery with less risk of complications – such as like surgical wound healing or infection – at a lower cost. Focused ultrasound can reach the desired target without damaging surrounding tissue, and it can be repeated, if necessary.

Clinical Trials

A clinical trial in California is using low frequency neuromodulation to treat anxiety.

Another clinical trial in California is recruiting patient to treat with low frequency neuromodulation to reduce anxiety.

A clinical trial in Texas is using low frequency neuromodulation to treat the combination of anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder.

A clinical trial in Rhode Island is using low frequency neuromodulation to treat the combination of anxiety and depression.

A clinical trial in Virginia is recruiting by invitation , using low frequency neuromodulation to treat anxiety.

A clinical trial is recruiting patients in Ohio that will use high frequency ablation to treat focal seizure propagation and anxiety.

Find a Treatment Site

Search for a treatment center or clinical trial near you.

Regulatory Approval and Reimbursement

Focused ultrasound treatment for anxiety is not yet approved by regulatory bodies or covered by medical insurance companies.

Notable Papers

Arulpragasam AR, Theyel B, Barredo J, Pouille F, Gillotti JG, Greenberg BD, Wout-Frank MV’, Philip NS. Low Intensity Focused Ultrasound Neuromodulation in Psychiatric Disorders: Mechanisms, Models, and Missing Links. Biol Psychiatry. 2026 Mar 6:S0006-3223(26)00097-1. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2026.02.019. PMID: 41796716

Prasad D, Jain R, Samal B, Sriram N, Drysch A, Menon SS, Selner AN, Mossner JM, Rosenow JM. Focused ultrasound neuromodulation for psychiatric disorders: a scoping review of clinical applications and current progress. J Neural Transm (Vienna). 2026 Feb 19. doi: 10.1007/s00702-026-03113-3. PMID: 41711827

Kang Y, Han KM, Ham BJ, Auer DP, Kaiser M, Jung J. Transcranial focused ultrasound for emotion regulation: A systematic review and quantitative summary of human studies. J Affect Disord. 2026 Mar 21;405:121621. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2026.121621. PMID: 41871637

Arulpragasam AR, Philip NS. Quiet waves, deep impact: acoustic modeling of low-intensity focused ultrasound. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2026 Jan;51(1):351-353. doi: 10.1038/s41386-025-02191-3. PMID: 40764758

Du A, Huang M, Wang Z, Zhou H, Duan H, Hu S, Zheng Y. Using Low-Intensity Focused Ultrasound to Treat Depression and Anxiety Disorders: A Review of Current Evidence. Brain Sci. 2025 Oct 21;15(10):1129. doi: 10.3390/brainsci15101129. PMID: 41154223

Tsunoda K, Webb TD, Lybbert C, Wilson MG, Mickey BJ, Kubanek J. Noninvasive suppression of responses to threat using focused ultrasonic waves. J Neurosci. 2025 Oct 29:e0776252025. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0776-25.2025. PMID: 41162150

Barksdale BR, Enten L, DeMarco A, Kline R, Doss MK, Nemeroff CB, Fonzo GA. Low-intensity transcranial focused ultrasound amygdala neuromodulation: a double-blind sham-controlled target engagement study and unblinded single-arm clinical trial. Mol Psychiatry. 2025 Oct;30(10):4497-4511. doi: 10.1038/s41380-025-03033-w. Epub 2025 Apr 24. PMID: 40275098

de Souza DN, Seas A, Blethen K, Feigal J, Shah BR, Grant GA, Harward SC. Focused ultrasound as an emerging therapy for neuropsychiatric disease: Historical perspectives and a review of current clinical data. Psychiatry Clin Neurosci. 2025 Feb 12. doi: 10.1111/pcn.13799. PMID: 39936841

Shi Y, Wu W. Advances in transcranial focused ultrasound neuromodulation for mental disorders. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry. 2025 Jan 10;136:111244. doi: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2024.111244. Epub 2025 Jan 3. PMID: 39756638

Ziebell P, Rodrigues J, Forster A, Sanguinetti JL, Allen JJ, Hewig J. Inhibition of midfrontal theta with transcranial ultrasound explains greater approach versus withdrawal behavior in humans. Brain Stimul. 2023 Aug 21;16(5):1278-1288. doi: 10.1016/j.brs.2023.08.011. PMID: 37611659

Becker CR, Milad MR. Contemporary Approaches Toward Neuromodulation of Fear Extinction and Its Underlying Neural Circuits. Curr Top Behav Neurosci. 2023 Sep 2. doi: 10.1007/7854_2023_442. Online ahead of print. PMID: 37658219

Legon W, Strohman A, In A, Stebbins K, Payne B. Non-invasive neuromodulation of sub-regions of the human insula differentially affect pain processing and heart-rate variability. bioRxiv. 2023 May 5:2023.05.05.539593. doi: 10.1101/2023.05.05.539593. Preprint. PMID: 37205396

Chu PC, Huang CS, Ing SZ, Yu HY, Fisher RS, Liu HL. Pulsed Focused Ultrasound Reduces Hippocampal Volume Loss and Improves Behavioral Performance in the Kainic Acid Rat Model of Epilepsy. Neurotherapeutics. 2023 Mar;20(2):502-517. doi: 10.1007/s13311-023-01363-7. Epub 2023 Mar 14. PMID: 36917440

Zhang X, Xu W, Sang G, Yu D, Shi Q. A measure for perioperative anxiety symptoms in patients with FUAS – treated uterine fibroids: development and validation. Int J Hyperthermia. 2022;39(1):525-529. doi: 10.1080/02656736.2022.2051612.PMID: 35300541

Click here for additional references from PubMed.

Bipolar Disorder

mmayes — Wed, 29 Mar 2023 22:08:47 +0000

Focused Ultrasound Therapy

Focused ultrasound is a noninvasive, therapeutic technology that could transform the quality of life and decrease the cost of care for patients with bipolar disorder. This novel technology focuses beams of ultrasound energy precisely and accurately on targets deep in the brain without damaging surrounding normal tissue.

How it Works
Where the beams converge, focused ultrasound produces therapeutic effects that are being evaluated. Focused ultrasound energy can be used to increase or decrease the brain signals that are released from the target tissue, with the goal of returning these to a more appropriate spectrum of responses to circumstances.

The primary options for treatment of bipolar disorder include medications and behavioral therapy.

For certain patients, focused ultrasound could provide a more effective treatment than current conventional therapy.

Advantages

Focused ultrasound is noninvasive, so it does not carry added concerns like surgical wound healing or infection.
Focused ultrasound can reach the desired target without damaging surrounding tissue.
It can be repeated, if necessary.

Clinical Trials

A clinical trial is recruiting patient for treatment of bipolar disorder in Sunnybrook, Canada. This is using bilateral targeting of the anterior limb of the internal capsule as a treatment for this disease.

A clinical trial is recruiting patients in Boston, Mass. that uses low frequency focused ultrasound on the amygdala to help patients with bipolar disorder.  

A clinical trial, primarily targeting depression and anxiety, is also treatment patients with bipolar II disorder, in Providence, Rhode Island.

Find a Treatment Site

Search for a treatment center or clinical trial near you.

Regulatory Approval and Reimbursement

Focused ultrasound treatment for bipolar disorder is not yet approved by regulatory bodies or covered by medical insurance companies.

Notable Papers

Wang P, Gao Y, Li H, Tian J, Chai S, Zhou Z, Huang X, Bao W, Hu X, Zhang L, Xing H, Li B, Gong Q, Huang X. Comparison of multiple non-invasive neuromodulation strategies for depressive episodes in major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder: A systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Psychiatry Clin Neurosci. 2026 Feb;80(2):106-120. doi: 10.1111/pcn.13918. Epub 2025 Nov 11. PMID: 41217021

Nüssel M, Zhao Y, Knorr C, Regensburger M, Stadlbauer A, Buchfelder M, Del Vecchio A, Kinfe T. Deep Brain Stimulation, Stereotactic Radiosurgery and High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound Targeting the Limbic Pain Matrix: A Comprehensive Review. Pain Ther. 2022 Jun;11(2):459-476. doi: 10.1007/s40122-022-00381-1. Epub 2022 Apr 26. PMID: 35471626

Niu X, Yu K, He B Transcranial focused ultrasound induces sustained synaptic plasticity in rat hippocampus. Brain Stimul. 2022 Mar-Apr;15(2):352-359. doi: 10.1016/j.brs.2022.01.015. Epub 2022 Jan 30. PMID: 35104664

Nazer B, Giraud D, Zhao Y, Hodovan J, Elman MR, Masri A, Gerstenfeld EP, Lindner JR. High-intensity ultrasound catheter ablation achieves deep mid-myocardial lesions in vivo. Heart Rhythm. 2021 Apr;18(4):623-631. doi: 10.1016/j.hrthm.2020.12.027. Epub 2020 Dec 29. PMID: 33385570

Chang JG, Jung HH, Kim SJ, Chang WS, Jung NY, Kim CH, Chang JW. Bilateral thermal capsulotomy with magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound for patients with treatment-resistant depression: A proof-of-concept study. Bipolar Disord. 2020 Nov;22(7):771-774. doi: 10.1111/bdi.12964. Epub 2020 Jul 16. PMID: 32580242

Click here for additional references from PubMed.

Autism

mmayes — Wed, 29 Mar 2023 18:01:08 +0000

Focused Ultrasound Therapy

Focused ultrasound is a therapeutic technology with the potential to improve the quality of life and decrease the cost of care for patients with autism. This novel technology focuses beams of ultrasound energy precisely and accurately on targets deep in the body without damaging surrounding normal tissue.

How it Works
Where the beams converge, focused ultrasound produces a temporary blood brain barrier disruption that enables therapeutic gene delivery in a small animal model of autism. Another mechanism is using neuromodulation to stimulate the right parietal lobe to decrease the neural rigidity, which reduced social and non-social autistic behaviors adult patients with autism.

There are no curative treatment options autism, and much of the care is supportive. For certain patients, focused ultrasound could provide a much needed, effective treatment option. While significant work has been accomplished, there is still much to be done before this technology will be widely available.

Advantages

Focused ultrasound is noninvasive, so it does not carry added concerns like surgical wound healing or infection.
Focused ultrasound can reach the desired target without damaging surrounding tissue.
It can be repeated, if necessary.

Clinical Trials

At the present time, there are no clinical trials recruiting patients for focused ultrasound treatment of autism.

Regulatory Approval and Reimbursement

Focused ultrasound treatment for autism is not yet approved by regulatory bodies or covered by medical insurance companies

Notable Papers

Polte S, Klingmann L, Seßmann A, Schwichtenberg S, Herrmann CS, Witt K, Roheger M. Neuromodulatory Effects of Transcranial Pulse Stimulation (TPS) in Neurological and Psychiatric Disorders-A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Neurol Int. 2025 Nov 18;17(11):188. doi: 10.3390/neurolint17110188. PMID: 41295447

Darmani G, Ramezanpour H, Sarica C, Annirood R, Grippe T, Nankoo JF, Fomenko A, Santyr B, Zeng K, Vetkas A, Samuel N, Davidson B, Fasano A, Lankarany M, Kalia SK, Pichardo S, Lozano AM, Chen R. Individualized non–invasive deep brain stimulation of the basal ganglia using transcranial ultrasound stimulation. Nat Commun. 2025 Mar 19;16(1):2693. doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-57883-7.PMID: 40108143

Shen Y, Li N, Sun S, Dong L, Wang Y, Chang L, Zhang X, Wang F Non-invasive, targeted, and non-viral ultrasound-mediated brain-derived neurotrophic factor plasmid delivery for treatment of autism in a rat model. Front Neurosci. 2022 Sep 1;16:986571. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2022.986571. eCollection 2022.

Click here for additional references from PubMed.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

mmayes — Thu, 26 May 2022 04:50:30 +0000

Focused Ultrasound Therapy

Focused ultrasound is a noninvasive, therapeutic technology with the potential to improve the quality of life and decrease the cost of care for patients with PTSD. This novel technology focuses beams of ultrasound energy precisely and accurately on targets deep in the body without damaging surrounding normal tissue.

How it Works
Where the beams converge, focused ultrasound produces neuromodulation, or alterations in the neural responsiveness of target tissues. By altering the responsiveness of the tissues, the impacts on the various symptoms of PTSD are being evaluated.

The primary options for treatment of PTSD include therapy and medication.

For certain patients, focused ultrasound could provide a non-invasive and more effective alternative to conventional care. While significant work has been accomplished, there is still much to be done before this technology will be widely available.

Advantages

Focused ultrasound is non-invasive, so it does not carry added concerns like surgical wound healing or infection.
Focused ultrasound can reach the desired target without damaging surrounding tissue.
It can be repeated, if necessary.

Clinical Trials

There is a clinical trial, treating a depression that also includes treatment of PTSD, in Providence, RI.

Regulatory Approval and Reimbursement

Focused ultrasound treatment for PTSD is not yet approved by regulatory bodies or covered by medical insurance companies.

Notable Papers

Tsunoda K, Webb TD, Lybbert C, Wilson MG, Mickey BJ, Kubanek J. Noninvasive Suppression of Responses to Threat Using Focused Ultrasonic Waves. J Neurosci. 2026 Jan 7;46(1):e0776252025. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0776-25.2025. PMID: 41162150

Darmani G, Ramezanpour H, Sarica C, Annirood R, Grippe T, Nankoo JF, Fomenko A, Santyr B, Zeng K, Vetkas A, Samuel N, Davidson B, Fasano A, Lankarany M, Kalia SK, Pichardo S, Lozano AM, Chen R. Individualized non-invasive deep brain stimulation of the basal ganglia using transcranial ultrasound stimulation. Nat Commun. 2025 Mar 19;16(1):2693. doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-57883-7.PMID: 40108143 

Manocchio F, Enepekides J, Nestor S, Giacobbe P, Rabin JS, Burke MJ, Lanctôt KL, Goubran M, Meng Y, Lipsman N, Hamani C, Davidson B. Neuromodulation as a therapeutic approach for post-traumatic stress disorder: the evidence to date. Expert Rev Neurother. 2025 Jan;25(1):101-120. doi: 10.1080/14737175.2024.2442658. Epub 2024 Dec 24. PMID: 39704493

Depression

mmayes — Thu, 09 Dec 2021 00:48:00 +0000

Focused Ultrasound Therapy

Focused ultrasound is a noninvasive therapeutic technology with the potential to improve the quality of life and decrease the cost of care for patients with depression. This novel technology focuses beams of ultrasonic energy precisely and accurately on targets deep in the brain without damaging surrounding normal tissue.

How it Works
Where the beams converge, focused ultrasound produces thermal ablation, meaning that the targeted tissue is heated and destroyed where the beams converge. Additional research is using neuromodulation, where lower intensity focused ultrasound is used to alter the activity of targets to improve depression.

Advantages
Current treatments for depression include medications, electroconvulsive therapy, surgery (radiofrequency or laser ablation, deep brain stimulation), or stereotactic radiosurgery (gamma knife, linear accelerator), all of which have limitations and side effects.

Focused ultrasound has the potential to provide an alternative to invasive surgery or radiosurgery via precise thermal ablation, or to augment drug therapy.

Focused ultrasound is noninvasive – no incisions, holes in the skull, electrodes in the brain – and therefore has reduced risk for infection and blood clots. It also enables precise targeting and minimizes damage to non-targeted, healthy brain. Focused ultrasound can also be a complement to drug therapy, enabling enhanced delivery of therapies into the brain via temporary opening of the blood-brain barrier.

Clinical Trials

A clinical trial in Tulsa Oklahoma is using low intensity focused ultrasound to improve the communications in the brain for patients with treatment resistant depression.

A clinical trial in Utah is using low intensity focused ultrasound to treat patients with depression.

A clinical trial in South Carolina is using low intensity focused ultrasound to treat patients with treatment resistant depression.

A clinical trial in Ontario, Canada is using the next generation dome helmet to treat patients with treatment resistant depression.  

A clinical trial in France is using low intensity focused ultrasound to treat patients with treatment resistant depression.

A clinical trial in Rhode Island is using neuromodulation to the amygdala to treat depression.

A clinical trial in Los Angeles is treating depression. This trial is recruiting patients by invitation.

See here for a list of treatment sites
See here for a list of clinical trials sites
See here for a list of laboratory research sites

Find a Treatment Site

Search for a treatment center or clinical trial near you.

Regulatory Approval and Reimbursement

Focused ultrasound is only approved by for the treatment of depression in Korea. Outside of the South Korean National Health Insurance System, we are not aware of this treatment reimbursed by any other medical insurance providers.

Additional Resources

National Institute of Mental Health
One Mind
Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance

Notable Papers

Zhang Y, Zhang Y, Zhang K, Wang L, Huang D, Zhen F, Wang R, An C. Parameter-Specific Effects of Low-Intensity Transcranial Focused Ultrasound Stimulation on Depression-Like Behaviors in a CUMS Mouse Model. Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat. 2026 Mar 12;22:586583. doi: 10.2147/NDT.S586583. eCollection 2026. PMID: 41847603

Tan G, Chen H, Leuthardt EC. Ultrasound Applications in the Treatment of Major Depressive Disorder: A Systematic Review of Techniques and Therapeutic Potentials in Clinical Trials and Animal Model Studies. Neuromodulation. 2026 Feb;29(2):187-204. doi: 10.1016/j.neurom.2025.08.001. Epub 2025 Oct 16. PMID: 41105071

Mitterwallner M, Radjenovic S, Grigoryeva D, Bender L, Gaal M, Osou S, Zettl AA, Plischek N, Lachmair P, Herzhauser K, Matt E, Beisteiner R. Antidepressant effect of transcranial pulse stimulation (TPS) targeting neuropsychiatric disorders: a retrospective analysis. Psychol Med. 2026 Feb 6;56:e40. doi: 10.1017/S0033291726103274. PMID: 41646033

Davidson B, Clappison A, Mithani K, Favi Bocca L, Giacobbe P, Nestor S, Meng Y, Ottoy J, Rabin JS, Burke M, Uludag K, Hamani C, Lipsman N, Goubran M. Microstructural, morphological, and metabolic changes following magnetic resonance guided focused ultrasound capsulotomy. Biol Psychiatry Cogn Neurosci Neuroimaging. 2026 Feb 9:S2451-9022(26)00029-7. doi: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2026.01.011. PMID: 41672276

Mirjalili M, Blumberger DM, Brunoni AR, Mulsant BH, Rajji TK. Neuromodulation and cognition in late-life depression. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2026 Jan 17. doi: 10.1038/s41386-026-02323-3. PMID: 41545465

Wang F, Ye K, Paerhati H, Suo J, Shen Z, Zhang J, Li D, Zhan S, Lai Y, Sun B. Imaging characteristics correlated with outcomes of cranial MRgFUS – a systematic review. Neuroimage. 2025 Nov 7;323:121571. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2025.121571. PMID: 41207452

Luo Y, Luo K, Zhang X, Feng X, Lei L, Cheng S, Meng F, Xu X, Chen M, Ao L. Low-intensity focused ultrasound stimulation on the hippocampus improved CSDS-induced neuroinflammation through the Notch1 signaling pathway. J Affect Disord. 2025 Dec 1;390:119793. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2025.119793. Epub 2025 Jun 30. PMID: 40602537

Ahmadnia H, Abdollahzadeh R, Hatami H, Masoumi S, Moezzi SMI, Shahsavari K, Khanavi M, Yazarlu O, Tohidy Majd M, Hasanpour M. Neurobiological mechanisms and recent advances in drug-based therapeutics in depression. Neuroscience. 2025 Nov 6;590:120-142. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2025.11.002. PMID: 41205901

De Schlichting E, Huang Y, Jones RM, Meng Y, Cao X, Baskaran A, Hynynen K, Hamani C, Lipsman N, Goubran M, Davidson B. Focused ultrasound capsulotomy: predicting the probability of successful lesioning based on skull morphology. J Neurosurg. 2025 Oct 10:1-10. doi: 10.3171/2025.6.JNS2588. PMID: 41072044

Tan G, Chen H, Leuthardt EC. Ultrasound Applications in the Treatment of Major Depressive Disorder: A Systematic Review of Techniques and Therapeutic Potentials in Clinical Trials and Animal Model Studies. Neuromodulation. 2025 Oct 16:S1094-7159(25)00275-2. doi: 10.1016/j.neurom.2025.08.001. PMID: 41105071

Tsuchiyagaito A, Kuplicki R, Misaki M, Edwards L, Camprodon JA, Fitzgerald K, Khalsa SS, Philip NS, Paulus MP, Guinjoan SM. Reversible modulation of a deep white matter surgical target for depression with low-intensity focused ultrasound. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2025 Sep 25. doi: 10.1038/s41386-025-02252-7. PMID: 40999237

Michalopoulou PG, Meshreky KM, Hommerich Z, Shergill SS. Neuromodulation and neural networks in psychiatric disorders: current status and emerging prospects. Psychol Med. 2025 Sep 26;55:e281. doi: 10.1017/S003329172510158X. PMID: 40999798

Click here for additional references from PubMed.

Anorexia Nervosa

mmayes — Wed, 08 Dec 2021 20:47:00 +0000

Focused Ultrasound Therapy

Focused ultrasound is a noninvasive, therapeutic technology with the potential to improve the quality of life and decrease the cost of care for patients with anorexia. This novel technology focuses beams of ultrasound energy precisely and accurately on targets deep in the brain, known be involved in anorexia, without damaging surrounding normal tissue.

How it Works
Where the beams converge, focused ultrasound produces several therapeutic effects that are being evaluated: precise ablation (thermal destruction of tissue) and neuromodulation (altering the effects of neural impulses). Though still in the very early stages of development, for certain patients, these focused ultrasound techniques have potential to provide a noninvasive and more effective treatment for anorexia.

Advantages

Focused ultrasound can reach the desired target without damaging surrounding tissue.
As many patients are young, the noninvasive approach of focused ultrasound is an attractive feature.
It can be repeated, if necessary.

Clinical Trials

A clinical trial in Sunnybrook, Canada is treating patients with anorexia nervosa with co-morbidities of depression or obsessive compulsive disorder with an ablative treatment of the anterior limb of the internal capsule.

Find a Treatment Site

Search for a treatment center or clinical trial near you.

Regulatory Approval and Reimbursement

Focused ultrasound treatment for anorexia is not yet approved by regulatory bodies or covered by medical insurance companies.

Notable Papers

The Focused Ultrasound Foundation Psychiatric Workshop Summary, October, 2017

Click here for additional references from PubMed.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

mmayes — Wed, 08 Dec 2021 20:47:00 +0000

Focused Ultrasound Therapy

Focused ultrasound is a noninvasive, therapeutic technology with the potential to improve the quality of life and decrease the cost of care for patients with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). This novel technology focuses beams of ultrasound energy precisely and accurately on targets deep in the brain without damaging surrounding normal tissue.

How it Works
Where the beams converge, focused ultrasound produces neuromodulative therapeutic effects that are currently being evaluated. The mechanism of action of this treatment is being investigated, but it is still not well understood.

Advantages
For certain patients, focused ultrasound could provide a noninvasive – and perhaps more effective – alternative to conventional therapy. Focused ultrasound carries less risk of complications – such as surgical wound healing or infection – at a lower cost. It can reach the desired target without damaging surrounding tissue and is repeatable, if necessary. While significant work has been accomplished, there is still much to be done before this technology will be widely available.

Clinical Trials

A clinical trial is using neuromodulation in Hong Kong to see if it can improve those who have trouble in concentration.

A clinical trial in California is recruiting patients “by invitation” and is using low frequency focused ultrasound targeting the anterior cingulate in multiple treatment sessions.

Find a Treatment Site

Search for a treatment center or clinical trial near you.

Regulatory Approval and Reimbursement

Focused ultrasound treatment for ADHD is not yet approved by regulatory bodies or covered by medical insurance companies.

Notable Papers

Wang M, Xie Z, Wang T, Dong S, Ma Z, Zhang X, Li X, Yuan Y. Low-intensity transcranial ultrasound stimulation improves memory behavior in an ADHD rat model by modulating cortical functional network connectivity. Neuroimage. 2024 Oct 1;299:120841. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2024.120841. Epub 2024 Sep 6. PMID: 39244077.

Lord B, Sanguinetti JL, Ruiz L, Miskovic V, Segre J, Young S, Fini ME, Allen JJB. Transcranial focused ultrasound to the posterior cingulate cortex modulates default mode network and subjective experience: an fMRI pilot study. Front Hum Neurosci. 2024 Jun 4;18:1392199. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2024.1392199. PMID: 38895168; PMCID: PMC11184145.

Hu YY, Yang G, Liang XS, Ding XS, Xu DE, Li Z, Ma QH, Chen R, Sun YY. Transcranial low-intensity ultrasound stimulation for treating central nervous system disorders: A promising therapeutic application. Front Neurol. 2023 Mar 8;14:1117188. doi: 10.3389/fneur.2023.1117188. PMID: 36970512; PMCID: PMC10030814.

Materna L, Wiesner CD, Shushakova A, Trieloff J, Weber N, Engell A, Schubotz RI, Bauer J, Pedersen A, Ohrmann P. Adult patients with ADHD differ from healthy controls in implicit, but not explicit, emotion regulation. J Psychiatry Neurosci. 2019 Sep 1;44(5):340-349. doi: 10.1503/jpn.180139.

Tang C, Wei Y, Zhao J, Nie J. Different Developmental Pattern of Brain Activities in ADHD: A Study of Resting-State fMRI. Dev Neurosci. 2018;40(3):246-257. doi: 10.1159/000490289. Epub 2018 Jul 13.

Click here for additional references from PubMed.

Addiction

mmayes — Wed, 08 Dec 2021 20:43:00 +0000

Focused Ultrasound Therapy

Focused ultrasound is a noninvasive, therapeutic technology with the potential to improve the quality of life and decrease the cost of care for patients with addiction. This novel technology focuses beams of ultrasound energy precisely and accurately on targets deep in the brain, known to be involved in the craving or other manifestations of addiction. As many of the addictions are caused by the same brain targets, the decision was made to put all of the addictions together in one listing.

How it Works
Where the beams converge, focused ultrasound can produce neuromodulation, which alters the nervous activity of the target cells which may decrease the craving for the item being sought. There are a variety of items that can be the focus of the addiction, and the ones listed below are ones that we have seen investigated or that we believe may be topics in the future. The list of the items being sought can be extensive, but alcohol, food, gambling, nicotine, opioids, sex and stimulants are the major ones in play currently. There are many patterns of this disease, but it comes down to a profound craving for the desired item, and numerous patterns of activity to help accomplish that task. The main use of focused ultrasound is to alter the brain reward mechanism, to minimize or eliminate that craving.

Advantages
Focused ultrasound is a noninvasive and non-pharmacologic technique that can reach the desired target(s) without damaging surrounding tissue. It can also be repeated, if necessary.

Clinical Trials

Alcohol
A clinical trial in Toronto, Ontario, Canada is using low intensity focused ultrasound to impact patients with multiple types of disorders, including many types of tremors, dystonia, epilepsy, and addictive substance abuse conditions.

A clinical trial in Virginia Tech is using focused ultrasound to treat patients with chronic pain and alcohol use disorder.  

A clinical trial in California is treating patients with alcohol use disorder.  

Food
A clinical trial using focused ultrasound is treating patients with food addiction at the University of Utah.

A clinical trial using focused ultrasound is treating patients with food addiction at the University of West Virginia.  

Gambling
There are no currently recruiting focused ultrasound studies on gambling.

Multiple Drug Usage
A clinical trial in Toronto, Ontario, Canada is using low intensity focused ultrasound to impact patients with multiple types of disorders, including many types of tremors, dystonia, epilepsy, and addictive substance abuse conditions.

There are increasing use of multiple drugs in those suffering from addiction, and there is a new study looking at those using a wide variety of these drugs at West Virginia University.

Nicotine
A clinical trial in Toronto, Ontario, Canada is using low intensity focused ultrasound to impact patients with multiple types of disorders, including many types of tremors, dystonia, epilepsy, and addictive substance abuse conditions.

A clinical trial at at the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Washington DC VA Medical Center is examining the effect of LIFU neuromodulation on smoking craving and the brain’s response to smoking cues in individuals who smoke cigarettes.

Opioids
A clinical trial in Toronto, Ontario, Canada is using low intensity focused ultrasound to impact patients with multiple types of disorders, including many types of tremors, dystonia, epilepsy, and addictive substance abuse conditions.

A clinical trial at West Virginia University using focused ultrasound to modulate the impulses that stimulate desire has completed patient enrollment.

A second clinical trial being formulated at West Virginia University is a randomized, blinded, partial crossover treatment of the nucleus accumbens and the ventral cortex for patients with severe refractory OUD.

A clinical trial is being done at the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Washington DC VA Medical Center looking at LIFU stimulation of the anterior insula, and the impact on those with opioid addiction.

Other
A clinical trial is being formulated at Virginia Polytechnical Institute and State University that is looking to use neuromodulation in patients with craving, measure of pain, and anxiety. 

Sex
There are no currently recruiting focused ultrasound studies on the abuse of sex.

Stimulants
A clinical trial in Toronto, Ontario, Canada is using low intensity focused ultrasound to impact patients with multiple types of disorders, including many types of tremors, dystonia, epilepsy, and addictive substance abuse conditions.

A clinical trial using focused ultrasound to treat patients for cocaine abuse has begun at the University of Virginia.

A clinical trial in Korea is using focused ultrasound to treat patients who are addicted to stimulant use.

Find a Treatment Site

Search for a treatment center or clinical trial near you.

Regulatory Approval and Reimbursement

Focused ultrasound treatment for addiction is not yet approved by regulatory bodies or covered by medical insurance companies.

Notable Papers

Bishay AAED, Schafer S, Bystritsky A, Tyler WJ, Monti MM, Kubanek J, Sanguinetti JL, Spivak NM. Risk of Low-Frequency Ultrasound Stimulation: Response to “Brain Injury During Focused Ultrasound Neuromodulation for Substance Use Disorder”. Brain Stimul. 2026 Mar 29:103091. doi: 10.1016/j.brs.2026.103091. PMID: 41916485

Wang F, Paerhati H, Lin Z, Liu S, Sun B, Li D. Treatment of alcohol use disorder via magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound ablation surgery. Addict Sci Clin Pract. 2026 Jan 14;21(1):18. doi: 10.1186/s13722-025-00644-0. PMID: 41535875

Zubair M. Re: Rezai A, Ranjan M, Bhagwat A et al. “Brain injury during focused ultrasound neuromodulation for substance use disorder.” Brain stimul. 2025. Brain Stimul. 2026 Jan 14;19(2):103030. doi: 10.1016/j.brs.2026.103030. PMID: 41544818

 Fouragnan E. Response to: Brain injury during focused ultrasound neuromodulation for substance use disorder. Brain Stimul. 2025 Dec 1;19(1):102989. doi: 10.1016/j.brs.2025.102989. PMID: 41338480

 Rezai A, Ranjan M, Bhagwat A, Arsiwala T, Carpenter J, Schafer M, Adams G, Marton J, Tirumalai P, Farmer D, Mahoney J, Finomore V. Response to: letters referenced to brain Injury during focused ultrasound neuromodulation for substance use disorder. Brain Stimul. 2025 Dec 30:103014. doi: 10.1016/j.brs.2025.103014. PMID: 41478612

Davidson B, Schmidt FA, Bichsel O, Hajiabadi MM, Lozano AM. Transcranial Focused Ultrasound: A Transformative Tool for Intracranial Ablation, Drug Delivery, and Neuromodulation. IEEE Rev Biomed Eng. 2025 Nov 11;PP. doi: 10.1109/RBME.2025.3624970. PMID: 41217925

Pauly KB. Letter to the Editor in response to “Brain injury during focused ultrasound neuromodulation for substance use disorder“. Brain Stimul. 2025;18(6):2075-2076. doi: 10.1016/j.brs.2025.11.004. Epub 2025 Nov 6. PMID: 41205799

Klein-Flugge MC, Airan RD, Attali D, Aubry JF, Bubrick EJ, Caskey CF, Cleveland RO, Fouragnan EF, Jones RM, Khokhlova TD, Kubanek J, Lea-Banks H, Legon W, McDannold N, Murphy KR, Osada T, Pauly KB, Pichardo S, Sallet J, Sun L, Treeby BE, Zheng H, Martin E, Verhagen L. Open Letter on Intervention Regimes and Adverse Events in Focused Ultrasound for Neuromodulation. Brain Stimul. 2025 Nov 27:102994. doi: 10.1016/j.brs.2025.102994. PMID: 41317895

Rezai A, Ranjan M, Bhagwat A, Arsiwala T, Carpenter J, Schafer M, Adams G, Marton J, Tirumalai P, Farmer D, Mahoney J, Finomore V. Brain Injury During Focused Ultrasound Neuromodulation for Substance Use Disorder. Brain Stimul. 2025 Oct 31:S1935-861X(25)00358-4. doi: 10.1016/j.brs.2025.10.012. PMID: 41177518

Kanen JW, Figee M, Goldstein RZ, Schiller D. Can Focused Ultrasound Disrupt Memory Reconsolidation? Biol Psychiatry. 2025 Sep 2:S0006-3223(25)01382-4. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2025.06.038. PMID: 40900058

Mahoney JJ, Thompson-Lake DGY, Ranjan M, Marton JL, Carpenter JS, D’Haese PF, Arsiwala T, Suffridge J, Farmer DL, Finomore VS, Tirumalai P, Hodder SL, Rezai AR. A case report of focused ultrasound neuromodulation of the bilateral nucleus accumbens for methamphetamine use disorder. Exp Clin Psychopharmacol. 2025 Sep 1. doi: 10.1037/pha0000793. PMID: 40892597

Yoo SS, Ewell MS, Smith EC, Yu IL, Kim HC, Desai RI. Transcranial focused ultrasound to nucleus accumbens reverses fentanyl-induced conditioned place preference in rats. PLoS One. 2025 Aug 22;20(8):e0329748. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0329748. eCollection 2025. PMID: 40845058

Watts WW, Clennell B, Jiang JK, Izaki-Lee K, Binodh A, Cuthell R, Tonyali D, Crompton J, Taaffe R, Alqahtani A, Andrieu A, Besinga IR, Heesom K, Steward TGJ, Cho K, Drinkwater BW, Molnár E, Whitcomb DJ. Brief transcranial focused ultrasound stimulation causes lasting modifications to the synaptic circuitry of the hippocampus. Brain Stimul. 2025 Aug 20;18(5):1587-1599. doi: 10.1016/j.brs.2025.08.014. PMID: 40846278

Rezai A, Thompson-Lake DGY, D’Haese PF, Meyer N, Ranjan M, Farmer D, Finomore V, Marton JL, Hodder S, Carpenter J, Bhagwat A, Berry J, Tirumalai P, Adams G, Arsiwala T, Blanke O, Mahoney JJ. Focused Ultrasound Neuromodulation: Exploring a Novel Treatment for Severe Opioid Use Disorder. Biol Psychiatry. 2025 Jan 9:S0006-3223(25)00023-X. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2025.01.001. PMID: 39798597

The Focused Ultrasound Foundation Psychiatric Workshop Summary, October, 2017

Click here for additional references from PubMed.

Schizophrenia

mmayes — Wed, 08 Dec 2021 13:47:00 +0000

Focused Ultrasound Therapy

Focused ultrasound is a noninvasive, therapeutic technology with the potential to improve the quality of life and decrease the cost of care for patients with schizophrenia. This novel technology focuses beams of ultrasound energy precisely and accurately on targets deep in the brain without damaging surrounding normal tissue.

How it Works
Where the beams converge, focused ultrasound produces neuromodulative therapeutic effects that are being evaluated.

Advantages
The primary options for treatment of schizophrenia include medication.

For certain patients, focused ultrasound could provide a noninvasive – and perhaps more effective – alternative to conventional therapy. Focused ultrasound carries less risk of complications – such as surgical wound healing or infection – at a lower cost. It can reach the desired target without damaging surrounding tissue and is repeatable, if necessary. While significant work has been accomplished, there is still much to be done before this technology will be widely available.

Clinical Trials

A clinical trial in New York is treating patients with schizophrenia.

A clinical trial in China is treating patients with at least moderate levels of schizophrenia.

A clinical trial in Shanghai, China is using low intensity focused ultrasound to treat schizophrenia.

Find a Treatment Site

Search for a treatment center or clinical trial near you.

Regulatory Approval and Reimbursement

Focused ultrasound treatment for schizophrenia is not yet approved by regulatory bodies or covered by medical insurance companies.

Notable Papers

Arulpragasam AR, Theyel B, Barredo J, Pouille F, Gillotti JG, Greenberg BD, Wout-Frank MV’, Philip NS. Low Intensity Focused Ultrasound Neuromodulation in Psychiatric Disorders: Mechanisms, Models, and Missing Links. Biol Psychiatry. 2026 Mar 6:S0006-3223(26)00097-1. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2026.02.019. PMID: 41796716

Amin F, Rasool F, Mahato RK. Transcranial focused ultrasound for precision modulation in schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Ann Med Surg (Lond). 2025 Nov 25;88(1):1058-1059. doi: 10.1097/MS9.0000000000004416. eCollection 2026 Jan. PMID: 41497006

De Schlichting E, Huang Y, Jones RM, Meng Y, Cao X, Baskaran A, Hynynen K, Hamani C, Lipsman N, Goubran M, Davidson B. Focused ultrasound capsulotomy: predicting the probability of successful lesioning based on skull morphology. J Neurosurg. 2026 Jan 1;144(1):94-103. doi: 10.3171/2025.6.JNS2588. PMID: 41072044

Davidson B, Xhima K, Cosgrove R, Hamani C, Eitan R, Rezai A, LeBlang S, Philip NS, Lipsman N. A roadmap for focused ultrasound applications in psychiatry: Proceedings of the 2024 Symposium on Focused Ultrasound in Psychiatry (FUS-PULSE). Brain Stimul. 2025 Aug 23:S1935-861X(25)00305-5. doi: 10.1016/j.brs.2025.08.012. PMID: 40846278

Darmani G, Ramezanpour H, Sarica C, Annirood R, Grippe T, Nankoo JF, Fomenko A, Santyr B, Zeng K, Vetkas A, Samuel N, Davidson B, Fasano A, Lankarany M, Kalia SK, Pichardo S, Lozano AM, Chen R. Individualized non-invasive deep brain stimulation of the basal ganglia using transcranial ultrasound stimulation. Nat Commun. 2025 Mar 19;16(1):2693. doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-57883-7.PMID: 40108143 

Brinker ST, Qi W, King-Stephens D, Shoham S. Transcranial Focused Ultrasound Stimulation in Dynamic Clinical Settings: Initial Strategy in Schizophrenia and Status Epilepticus. Ultrasound Med Biol. 2025 Jan 22:S0301-5629(24)00478-2. doi: 10.1016/j.ultrasmedbio.2024.12.019. PMID: 39848822

Pan TY, Pan YJ, Tsai SJ, Tsai CW, Yang FY. Focused Ultrasound Stimulates the Prefrontal Cortex and Prevents MK-801-Induced Psychiatric Symptoms of Schizophrenia in Rats. Schizophr Bull. 2023 Jun 11:sbad078. doi: 10.1093/schbul/sbad078. PMID: 37301986

Hugdahl K, Sommer IE. Auditory Verbal Hallucinations in Schizophrenia From a Levels of Explanation Perspective. Schizophr Bull. 2018 Feb 15;44(2):234-241. doi: 10.1093/schbul/sbx142.

Click here for additional references from PubMed.