Brain Imaging / Image: PASIEKA Getty Images
A recent Scientific American article discussed the use of focused ultrasound (FUS) to alter brain activity that could lead to noninvasive treatment of Parkinson’s and depression. Neural engineers at Stanford University School of Medicine directed bursts of inaudible acoustic energy to a specific part of a macaque monkey’s brain to provoke a specific response to visual stimuli. The study marked the first time that focused ultrasound was safely and effectively used in a nonhuman primate to influence brain activity rather than destroy tissue.
