Hou, J. (2023). An implantable piezoelectric ultrasound stimulator (ImPULS) for selective deep brain activation [Master's thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology]. MIT Media Lab.
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Thesis
An implantable piezoelectric ultrasound stimulator (ImPULS) for selective deep brain activation
Abstract
Precise neurostimulation has potential to revolutionize therapies for neurological
disorders. However, current neural interfaces targeting the deep brain face
significant limitations in spatial resolution and potency due to tissue attenuation.
We developed an implantable piezoelectric ultrasound stimulator (ImPULS) that
generates an ultrasonic focal point pressure of 100 kPa and can non-genetically
modulate the activity of neurons. We demonstrated that ImPULS can i) excite
neurons in a mouse hippocampal slice ex vivo, ii) activate cells in the hippocampus
of an anesthetized mouse to induce expression of activity-dependent
gene c-Fos, and iii) stimulate dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra
pars compacta (SNc) to elicit time-locked modulation of nigrostriatal dopamine
release. This work introduces a novel, non-genetic ultrasound platform for
spatially localized neural stimulation.