Focused Ultrasound for Neuromodulation of Crayfish

Neuromodulation is the alteration of nerve activity through targeted delivery of a stimulus to specific neurological sites in the body. The development of non invasive and accurate methods for neuromodulation could result in improvements in the medical field. Such improvements would be in treating epileptic seizures and mental disorders, inducing pain relief, and understanding how the brain works. Promising results in neuromodulation have been achieved with Focused Ultrasound (FUS), which can deliver targeted stimuli to a localized region deep in tissue. The goal of this research project is to determine the optimal ultrasonic parameters (e.g. frequency, peak intensity, pulse duration) to produce a neuromodulation response in crayfish. We are currently using crayfish due to its simple nervous system and well-established dissection protocol. The long term goal is to optimize the parameters of FUS for neuromodulation for use in the medical field.