Confirmed: Ultrasound Neuromodulation Helps Manage Pain — Université de Montréal Study

A new non-invasive neurostimulation technique has been shown to help manage pain by precisely targeting deep brain regions involved in pain processing, according to research from the Université de Montréal.

The technique, known as transcranial ultrasound stimulation (TUS), uses focused ultrasonic waves to modulate neural activity in areas such as the primary somatosensory cortex and the ventropostolateral nucleus of the thalamus—key regions in the brain’s pain network.

Researchers conducted a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial with 25 healthy participants aged 18 to 40 to evaluate TUS’s effect on pain sensitivity. The study found that targeting these specific brain regions with ultrasound could alter pain perception, offering a promising avenue for future clinical applications in neurology and psychiatry.

Until recently, non-invasive neuromodulation methods like transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) were limited in their ability to reach deep brain structures. TUS overcomes this limitation by delivering energy non-invasively with greater precision and depth, particularly for regions involved in pain signaling.

Oury Monchi, a professor at the Université de Montréal’s Department of Radiology, Radiation Oncology and Nuclear Medicine and researcher at the Centre de recherche de l’Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal (CRIUGM), noted that TUS presents a novel alternative for probing neural pain networks.

The study’s first author, PhD student Ali K. Zadeh, emphasized that the technique allows researchers to more accurately investigate the mechanisms of pain and develop effective clinical interventions.

The findings were described in a study published in the journal Pain and build on earlier work showing TUS’s potential to access deeper brain regions than conventional non-invasive techniques.

Researchers focused on two key targets: the left primary somatosensory cortex (S1), which processes sensory input from the body, and the left ventral posterolateral nucleus (VPL) of the thalamus, a critical relay point for pain signals traveling to the cortex.

By modulating activity in these areas, TUS offers a new way to study and potentially treat chronic pain conditions, with implications for both neurological and psychiatric disorders linked to pain processing.

While the current study involved healthy participants, the research team suggests that future trials could explore TUS’s therapeutic potential in individuals suffering from chronic pain or depression, conditions often linked to dysregulated pain circuits in the brain.