低强度脉冲超声在神经调控中的应用进展

Application progress of low intensity pulsed ultrasound in neuromodulation

自1927年被发现有生物效应以来,超声在医学领域中的应用已接近1个世纪。不同于依靠热效应用于组织消融的高强度聚焦超声(high intensity focused ultrasound,HIFU),低强度脉冲超声(low intensity pulsed ultrasound,LIPUS)主要通过非热效应(机械效应和空化效应)实现无创调控。凭借其分辨率高和穿透性强的优点,LIPUS在神经调控领域中发挥了重要的作用,已被证实在促进神经信息传递、增强大脑功能、减轻记忆损伤等方面均有积极效应,具有可观的应用前景。LIPUS的参数涉及频率、占空比、脉冲重复频率、持续时间等,而这些参数对LIPUS作用效果的影响尚不明确。本文从上述参数角度入手,对LIPUS进行系统性的概括和总结,并对近年来LIPUS在神经调控方面的进展进行综述,旨在为精准化治疗和调控提供有力参考,为LIPUS的临床应用提供思路。

It has been almost a century for the application of ultrasound in the medical field since the discovery of its biological effects in 1927.Low intensity pulsed ultrasound(LIPUS)exerts non-invasive regulation mainly through non-thermal effects(mechanical and cavitation effects),which is different from high intensity focused ultrasound(HIFU)relying on thermal effects for tissue ablation.Beneficial from the advantages of high resolution and strong penetration,LIPUS plays an important role in neuromodulation.To date,it has been proved to have compelling effects on promoting neural information transmission,improving brain function and reducing memory damage,demonstrating considerable application prospects.LIPUS parameters consist of frequency,duty cycle,pulse repetition frequency,sonication duration,etc.,but the influence of how these parameters act on LIPUS remains unclear.Here we systematically summarized LIPUS from the perspective of its parameters,and reviewed the progress of LIPUS in the regulation of neural function in recent years,aiming to provide powerful supports for precise treatment and regulation and also thoughtful insights for the clinic application of LIPUS.