Scientists from Washington University in St. Louis have innovated a non-invasive technology that combines holographic acoustic devices with genetic engineering. This allows them to precisely target specific neurons in the brain.
This breakthrough holds promise for precisely modulating targeted cell types across different diseased brain regions.
Human brain diseases such as Parkinson’s disease affect multiple regions, requiring technology capable of accurately and flexibly addressing all affected areas simultaneously.
“By enabling precise and flexible cell-type-specific neuromodulation without invasive procedures, AhSonogenetics provides a powerful tool for investigating intact neural circuits and offers promising interventions for neurological disorders,” Hong Chen, associate professor of biomedical engineering in the McKelvey School of Engineering. and neurosurgery at the medical school, he said.
Non-invasive wearable ultrasound device
Chen and her team developed a technique called AhSonogenetics, or Airy-beam holographic sonogenetics. This method uses a non-invasive wearable ultrasound device to modify genetically selected neurons in mouse brains.
AhSonogenetics integrates several of the Chen group’s recent breakthroughs into a single technology. In 2021, Chen and her team introduced Sonogenetics, a method that uses focused ultrasound to deliver a viral construct containing ultrasound-sensitive ion channels to genetically selected neurons in the brain.
This technique uses focused, low-intensity ultrasound to create a short burst of heat, opening ion channels and activating neurons. Chen’s team was the first to demonstrate that sonogenetics can influence the behavior of freely moving mice.
In 2022, Chen and members of her lab designed and 3D printed a flexible and versatile device called a binary acoustic beam-activated Airy metasurface that allowed them to manipulate ultrasound beams.
In addition, he is working on Sonogenetics 2.0, a technique that combines the advantages of ultrasound and genetic engineering to non-invasively and precisely modulate specific neurons in the brains of humans and animals.
Sonogenetics: The technology behind the device
Sonogenetics provides researchers with a precise method of controlling brain activity, while air-beam technology allows sound waves to be bent or steered to create arbitrary beam patterns in the brain with high spatial resolution.
According to Yaoheng Yang, a postdoctoral research associate who will receive a PhD in biomedical engineering from McKelvey Engineering in 2022, the technology offers researchers three distinct advantages.
“The air beam is a technology that can give us precise targeting of a smaller area than conventional technologies, the flexibility to direct to target areas of the brain, and to target multiple brain areas at the same time,” Yang said.
Chen and her team, including first authors Zhongtao Hu, a former postdoctoral research associate, and Yaoheng (Mack) Yang, individually designed each Airy-beam metasurface to serve as the basis for wearable ultrasound devices tailored for diverse and precise brain localization applications.
The team tested the technique on a mouse model of Parkinson’s disease. Using AhSonogenetics, they successfully stimulated two brain regions simultaneously in one mouse, eliminating the need for multiple implants or interventions. This stimulation in a mouse model alleviated motor deficits associated with Parkinson’s disease, such as slow movements, difficulty walking, and freezing behavior.
ABOUT THE EDITORIAL
Srishti Gupta Srishti studied English literature at Delhi University and has since realized that it is not her cup of tea. She has been an editor in every area and type of content imaginable, from children’s books to magazine articles. She enjoys popular culture, reading contemporary fiction and nonfiction, crafts, and spending time with her cats. With a keen interest in science, Srishti is particularly drawn to beats related to medicine, sustainability, genetic studies and anything related to biology.