{
  "id": 163712,
  "title": "Effects of transcranial focused ultrasound stimulation to human lateral geniculate nucleus on visual perception and steady-state visual evoked potentials",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/04/effects-of-transcranial-focused-ultrasound-stimulation-to-human",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-08-04T00:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "bioRxiv",
    "slug": "biorxiv",
    "url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.07.30.741804v1?rss=1"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Transcranial focused ultrasound stimulation (TUS) is a novel method that non-invasively alters neural activity in deep brain regions. To facilitate the integration of TUS into cognitive neuroscience and neuropsychiatry, researchers sought to explore the correlation between various sonication parameters and neuromodulatory effects. Their study focused on the human subcortical visual pathway, employing steady-state visual evoked potentials (SSVEPs) and contrast-response psychophysics as neural and behavioral indicators of visual pathway function.\n\nUtilizing structural MRIs and acoustic simulations, the researchers targeted the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN), employing a neuronavigated depth-steerable 4-element TUS transducer at a range of pulse repetition frequencies (PRFs) with 68 W/cm2 of free-water ISPPA and a 10% duty cycle. Participants were unaware of the stimulation conditions due to a white-noise auditory mask. Out of 25 neurotypical participants, none observed any changes in SSVEP response amplitude, SSVEP response latency, or perceptual behavior following TUS stimulation.\n\nFurther analysis of the simulated transducer positions revealed that the LGN was likely within the TUS focus in most participants. However, there was no correlation between the accuracy of targeting and the observed changes in neural activity during TUS. The findings suggest a need for caution when considering the impact of neuronavigated TUS for online causal manipulations in cognitive and clinical neuroscience.",
  "summary": "Transcranial ultrasound stimulation (TUS) is an emerging tool to non-invasively modulate neural activity in deep brain areas. A key need in accelerating TUS into cognitive neuroscience and neuropsychiatry is to better understand how different sonication parameters relate to neuromodulatory effects. Here we assess the role of pulse repetition frequency (PRF), a key TUS parameter thought to…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}