Transcranial Ultrasound Stimulation of the Anterior Cingulate Cortex Reduces Neuropathic Pain in Mice

Xiangjun Feng; Lili Niu; Meng Long; Kaixuan Luo; Xiaowei Huang; Moxian Chen; Zhengrong Lin; Wei Zhou; Shasha Yi; Lijuan Ao

doi:10.1155/2021/6510383

Transcranial Ultrasound Stimulation of the Anterior Cingulate Cortex Reduces Neuropathic Pain in Mice

Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2021 Dec 31:2021:6510383. doi: 10.1155/2021/6510383. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Xiangjun Feng^{1

2

3}, Lili Niu^{3

4

5}, Meng Long^{3

4

5}, Kaixuan Luo^{1

3}, Xiaowei Huang³, Moxian Chen¹, Zhengrong Lin³, Wei Zhou³, Shasha Yi^{1

3}, Lijuan Ao¹

Affiliations

¹ The School of Rehabilitation, Kunming Medical University, 1168 West Chunrong Road, Chenggong, Kunming 650500, China.
² General Surgery Department of Geriatrics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, 295 Xichang Road, Kunming 650032, China.
³ Institute of Biomedical and Health Engineering, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1068 Xueyuan Avenue, Shenzhen 518055, China.
⁴ CAS Key Laboratory of Health Informatics, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, 1068 Xueyuan Avenue, Shenzhen 518055, China.
⁵ Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Center for Brain Science and Brain-Inspired Intelligence, 1068 Xueyuan Avenue, Guangzhou 518055, China.

Abstract

Focused ultrasound (FUS) is a potential tool for treating chronic pain by modulating the central nervous system. Herein, we aimed to determine whether transcranial FUS stimulation of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) effectively improved chronic pain in the chronic compress injury mice model at different stages of neuropathic pain. The mechanical threshold of pain was recorded in the nociceptive tests. We found FUS stimulation elevated the mechanical threshold of pain in both short-term (p < 0.01) and long-term (p < 0.05) experiments. Furthermore, we determined protein expression differences in ACC between the control group, the intervention group, and the Sham group to analyze the underlying mechanism of FUS stimulation in improving neuropathic pain. Additionally, the results showed FUS stimulation led to alterations in differential proteins in long-term experiments, including cellular processes, cellular signaling, and information storage and processing. Our findings indicate FUS may effectively alleviate mechanical neuropathic pain via the ACC's stimulation, especially in the chronic state.