Abstract
Brain stimulation is a critical technique in neuroscience research and clinical application. Traditional transcranial brain stimulation techniques, such as transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), and deep brain stimulation (DBS) have been widely investigated in neuroscience for decades. However, TMS and tDCS have poor spatial resolution and penetration depth, and DBS requires electrode implantation in deep brain structures. These disadvantages have limited the clinical applications of these techniques. Owing to developments in science and technology, substantial advances in noninvasive and precise deep stimulation have been achieved by neuromodulation studies. Second-generation brain stimulation techniques that mainly rely on acoustic, electronic, optical, and magnetic signals, such as focused ultrasound, temporal interference, near-infrared optogenetic, and nanomaterial-enabled magnetic stimulation, offer great prospects for neuromodulation. This review summarized the mechanisms, development, applications, and strengths of these techniques and the prospects and challenges in their development. We believe that these second-generation brain stimulation techniques pave the way for brain disorder therapy.
Highlights
Neuromodulation has attracted considerable attention worldwide for its value in treating neurodegenerative diseases and increasing human performance, and many countries have increased investment and built their brain projects to accelerate the development process of neuromodulation
Focused ultrasound (FUS) effects in large animals were further investigated, and the results suggested that FUS-mediated brain stimulation can be precise, effective, and safe in ovine models (Yoon et al, 2019)
One large timescale study demonstrated that NIR optogenetic stimulation successfully controlled animal locomotive behavior by manipulating neurons in the dorsal striatum and upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) remained functional for at least 8 weeks at the injection brain site; these results suggested that using this approach in long-term behavioral tests is highly feasible (Miyazaki et al, 2019)
Summary
Traditional transcranial brain stimulation techniques, such as transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), and deep brain stimulation (DBS) have been widely investigated in neuroscience for decades. TMS and tDCS have poor spatial resolution and penetration depth, and DBS requires electrode implantation in deep brain structures. These disadvantages have limited the clinical applications of these techniques. This review summarized the mechanisms, development, applications, and strengths of these techniques and the prospects and challenges in their development. We believe that these second-generation brain stimulation techniques pave the way for brain disorder therapy
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