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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How it Works<\/strong> Advantages Alcohol<\/span> A\u202fclinical trial<\/strong><\/a>\u202fin Virginia Tech is using focused ultrasound to treat patients with chronic pain and alcohol use disorder.\u202f\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n A\u202fclinical trial<\/strong><\/a>\u202fin California is treating patients with alcohol use disorder.\u202f\u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n Food<\/span> A\u202fclinical trial<\/strong><\/a>\u202fusing focused ultrasound is treating patients with food addiction at the University of West Virginia.\u202f\u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n Gambling<\/span> Multiple Drug Usage<\/span>\u00a0 There are increasing use of multiple drugs in those suffering from addiction, and there is a new study<\/strong><\/a> looking at those using a wide variety of these drugs at West Virginia University.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nicotine<\/span> A\u00a0clinical trial<\/strong><\/a> 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\u2019s response to smoking cues in individuals who smoke cigarettes.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Opioids<\/span> A\u202fclinical trial<\/strong><\/a>\u202fat West Virginia University using focused ultrasound to modulate the impulses that stimulate desire has completed patient enrollment.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n A second\u202fclinical trial<\/strong><\/a>\u202fbeing 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A\u202f<\/strong>clinical trial<\/strong><\/a>\u202fis 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Other<\/span> Sex<\/span> Stimulants<\/span> A\u202fclinical trial<\/strong><\/a>\u202fusing focused ultrasound to treat patients for cocaine abuse has begun at the University of Virginia.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n A clinical trial<\/strong><\/a> in Korea is using focused ultrasound to treat patients who are addicted to stimulant use. <\/p>\n\n\n\n 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<\/strong><\/a>, it will take you to the latest information available from https:\/\/www.clinicaltrials.gov\/<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Search for a treatment center or clinical trial near you.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Focused ultrasound treatment for addiction is not yet approved by regulatory bodies or covered by medical insurance companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bishay AAED, Schafer S,\u00a0Bystritsky\u00a0A, 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”<\/strong><\/a>. Brain Stimul. 2026 Mar 29:103091.\u00a0doi: 10.1016\/j.brs.2026.103091. PMID: 41916485\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Prasad D, Jain R, Samal B, Sriram N,\u00a0Drysch\u00a0A, Menon SS, Selner AN, Mossner JM, Rosenow JM.\u00a0Focused ultrasound neuromodulation for psychiatric disorders: a scoping review of clinical applications and current progress<\/strong><\/a>. J Neural Transm (Vienna). 2026 Feb 19.\u00a0doi: 10.1007\/s00702-026-03113-3. PMID: 41711827\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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<\/strong><\/a>. Addict Sci Clin Pract. 2026 Jan 14;21(1):18. doi: 10.1186\/s13722-025-00644-0. PMID: 41535875 <\/p>\n\n\n\n Zubair M. Re: Rezai A, Ranjan M, Bhagwat A et al. “Brain injury during focused ultrasound neuromodulation for substance use disorder<\/a>.<\/strong>” Brain stimul. 2025. Brain Stimul. 2026 Jan 14;19(2):103030. doi: 10.1016\/j.brs.2026.103030. PMID: 41544818 <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u202fFouragnan E. Response to: Brain injury during focused ultrasound neuromodulation for substance use disorder<\/strong><\/a>. Brain Stimul. 2025 Dec 1;19(1):102989. doi: 10.1016\/j.brs.2025.102989. PMID: 41338480 <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u202fRezai 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<\/strong><\/a>. Brain Stimul. 2025 Dec 30:103014. doi: 10.1016\/j.brs.2025.103014. PMID: 41478612 <\/p>\n\n\n\n Davidson B, Schmidt FA, Bichsel O, Hajiabadi MM, Lozano AM. Transcranial Focused Ultrasound: A Transformative Tool for Intracranial Ablation, Drug Delivery, and Neuromodulation<\/strong><\/a>. IEEE Rev Biomed Eng. 2025 Nov 11;PP. doi: 10.1109\/RBME.2025.3624970. PMID: 41217925 <\/p>\n\n\n\n Pauly KB. Letter to the Editor in response to “Brain injury during focused ultrasound neuromodulation for substance use disorder<\/strong>“<\/a>. Brain Stimul. 2025;18(6):2075-2076. doi: 10.1016\/j.brs.2025.11.004. Epub 2025 Nov 6. PMID: 41205799 <\/p>\n\n\n\n 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<\/strong><\/a>. Brain Stimul. 2025 Nov 27:102994. doi: 10.1016\/j.brs.2025.102994. PMID: 41317895 <\/p>\n\n\n\n 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<\/strong><\/a>. Brain Stimul. 2025 Oct 31:S1935-861X(25)00358-4. doi: 10.1016\/j.brs.2025.10.012. PMID: 41177518 <\/p>\n\n\n\n Kanen JW, Figee M, Goldstein RZ, Schiller D. Can Focused Ultrasound Disrupt Memory Reconsolidation?<\/strong><\/a> Biol Psychiatry. 2025 Sep 2:S0006-3223(25)01382-4. doi: 10.1016\/j.biopsych.2025.06.038. PMID: 40900058 <\/p>\n\n\n\n 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<\/strong><\/a>. Exp Clin Psychopharmacol. 2025 Sep 1. doi: 10.1037\/pha0000793. PMID: 40892597 <\/p>\n\n\n\n Martin E, Roberts M, Grigoras IF, Wright O, Nandi T, Rieger SW, Campbell J, den Boer T, Cox BT, Stagg CJ, Treeby BE. Ultrasound\u202fsystem\u202ffor\u202fprecise\u202fneuromodulation\u202fof\u202fhuman\u202fdeep\u202fbrain\u202fcircuits<\/strong><\/a>. Nat Commun. 2025 Sep 5;16(1):8024. doi: 10.1038\/s41467-025-63020-1. PMID:\u202f40913042\u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n 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<\/strong><\/a>. PLoS One. 2025 Aug 22;20(8):e0329748. doi: 10.1371\/journal.pone.0329748. eCollection 2025. PMID: 40845058 <\/p>\n\n\n\n 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, Moln\u00e1r E, Whitcomb DJ. Brief transcranial focused ultrasound stimulation causes lasting modifications to the synaptic circuitry of the hippocampus<\/strong><\/a>. Brain Stimul. 2025 Aug 20;18(5):1587-1599. doi: 10.1016\/j.brs.2025.08.014. PMID: 40846278 <\/p>\n\n\n\n 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<\/strong><\/a>. Biol Psychiatry. 2025 Jan 9:S0006-3223(25)00023-X. doi: 10.1016\/j.biopsych.2025.01.001. PMID: 39798597 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/strong>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.<\/p>\n\n\n\nClinical Trials<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
A clinical trial<\/strong><\/a> 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
A\u202fclinical trial<\/strong><\/a>\u202fusing focused ultrasound is treating patients with food addiction at the University of Utah. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are no currently recruiting focused ultrasound studies on gambling. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
A\u00a0clinical trial<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0in Toronto, Ontario, Canada is using low intensity focused ultrasound to\u00a0impact\u00a0patients with multiple types of disorders, including many types of tremors, dystonia, epilepsy, and addictive substance abuse conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A\u00a0clinical trial<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0in Toronto, Ontario, Canada is using low intensity focused ultrasound to\u00a0impact\u00a0patients with multiple types of disorders, including many types of tremors, dystonia, epilepsy, and addictive substance abuse conditions.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A\u00a0clinical trial<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0in Toronto, Ontario, Canada is using low intensity focused ultrasound to\u00a0impact\u00a0patients with multiple types of disorders, including many types of tremors, dystonia, epilepsy, and addictive substance abuse conditions.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A\u202fclinical trial<\/strong><\/a>\u202fis being formulated at Virginia Polytechnical Institute and State University that is looking to use neuromodulation in patients with craving, measure of pain, and anxiety.\u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are no currently recruiting focused ultrasound studies on the abuse of sex. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
A\u00a0clinical trial<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0in Toronto, Ontario, Canada is using low intensity focused ultrasound to\u00a0impact\u00a0patients with multiple types of disorders, including many types of tremors, dystonia, epilepsy, and addictive substance abuse conditions.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\nFind a Treatment Site<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Notable Papers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n