Noninvasive Ultrasound Stimulation of Ventral Tegmental Area Induces Reanimation from General Anaesthesia in Mice
Tianyuan Bian,
Wen Meng,
Meihong Qiu,
Zhigang Zhong,
Zhengrong Lin,
Junjie Zou,
Yibo Wang,
Xiaowei Huang,
Lisheng Xu,
Tifei Yuan,
Zhili Huang,
Lili Niu,
Long Meng,
Hairong Zheng
Affiliations
Tianyuan Bian
Institute of Biomedical and Health Engineering, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1068 Xueyuan Avenue, Shenzhen, 518055, China
Wen Meng
Institute of Biomedical and Health Engineering, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1068 Xueyuan Avenue, Shenzhen, 518055, China
Meihong Qiu
Department of Pharmacology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China
Zhigang Zhong
Department of Pharmacology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China
Zhengrong Lin
Institute of Biomedical and Health Engineering, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1068 Xueyuan Avenue, Shenzhen, 518055, China
Junjie Zou
Institute of Biomedical and Health Engineering, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1068 Xueyuan Avenue, Shenzhen, 518055, China
Yibo Wang
Institute of Biomedical and Health Engineering, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1068 Xueyuan Avenue, Shenzhen, 518055, China
Xiaowei Huang
Institute of Biomedical and Health Engineering, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1068 Xueyuan Avenue, Shenzhen, 518055, China
Lisheng Xu
College of Medicine and Biological Information Engineering, Northeastern University, 195 Innovation Road, Shenyang 110016, China
Tifei Yuan
Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200030, China
Zhili Huang
Department of Pharmacology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China
Lili Niu
Institute of Biomedical and Health Engineering, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1068 Xueyuan Avenue, Shenzhen, 518055, China
Long Meng
Institute of Biomedical and Health Engineering, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1068 Xueyuan Avenue, Shenzhen, 518055, China
Hairong Zheng
Institute of Biomedical and Health Engineering, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1068 Xueyuan Avenue, Shenzhen, 518055, China
Evidence in animals suggests that deep brain stimulation or optogenetics can be used for recovery from disorders of consciousness (DOC). However, these treatments require invasive procedures. This report presents a noninvasive strategy to stimulate central nervous system neurons selectively for recovery from DOC in mice. Through the delivery of ultrasound energy to the ventral tegmental area, mice were aroused from an unconscious, anaesthetized state in this study, and this process was controlled by adjusting the ultrasound parameters. The mice in the sham group under isoflurane-induced, continuous, steady-state general anaesthesia did not regain their righting reflex. On insonation, the emergence time from inhaled isoflurane anaesthesia decreased (sham: 13.63±0.53 min, ultrasound: 1.5±0.19 min, p<0.001). Further, the induction time (sham: 12.0±0.6 min, ultrasound: 17.88±0.64 min, p<0.001) and the concentration for 50% of the maximal effect (EC50) of isoflurane (sham: 0.6%, ultrasound: 0.7%) increased. In addition, ultrasound stimulation reduced the recovery time in mice with traumatic brain injury (sham: 30.38±1.9 min, ultrasound: 7.38±1.02 min, p<0.01). This noninvasive strategy could be used on demand to promote emergence from DOC and may be a potential treatment for such disorders.
