Deep space exploration will cast unprecedented and multi-faceted health challenges for crew members. Limited access to resources calls for non-pharmacological alternatives to improve the performance and wellness of astronauts in the midst of stressful environments during a long space flight mission. Non-invasive regional brain stimulation techniques may expand options that can benefit their mental as well as physical health. Focused ultrasound (FUS) techniques enable the delivery of highly-focused (with a focal size measuring a few millimeters) acoustic energy to biological tissue in a non-invasive fashion. A series of recent studies, including our own, have found that transcranial FUS (tFUS) sonication to the brain, given in batches of pulses at a low intensity (below the threshold for heat generation or mechanical damage to the tissue), can reversibly modulate the excitability of regional brain tissue without elevating its temperature. We have also demonstrated that FUS can modulate the degree of neural conduction through myelinated nerves and can elicit tactile sensations by directly stimulating the nerve endings, suggesting its further applicability to the peripheral nervous system. Based on the advantages over existing brain stimulation modalities, especially in... More »
These state-of-the art technical innovations will be used to demonstrate the efficacy and safety of the tFUS-mediated, non-invasive brain stimulation. The development of the device and its application in humans to safely/transiently stimulate well-characterized regional neural circuitries are needed prior to the long-term, repeated administration of the technique for the enhancement of cognitive performance or therapeutics.
