Data from: Noninvasive sub-organ ultrasound stimulation for targeted neuromodulation

Tools for noninvasively modulating neural signaling in peripheral organs
will advance the study of nerves and their effect on homeostasis and
disease. Herein, we demonstrate a noninvasive method to modulate specific
signaling pathways within organs using ultrasound (US). US is first
applied to spleen to modulate the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway
(CAP), and US stimulation is shown to reduce cytokine response to
endotoxin to the same levels as implant-based vagus nerve stimulation
(VNS). Next, hepatic US stimulation is shown to modulate pathways that
regulate blood glucose and is as effective as VNS in suppressing the
hyperglycemic effect of endotoxin exposure. This response to hepatic US is
only found when targeting specific sub-organ locations known to contain
glucose sensory neurons, and both molecular (i.e. neurotransmitter
concentration and cFOS expression) and neuroimaging results indicate US
induced signaling to metabolism-related hypothalamic sub-nuclei. These
data demonstrate that US stimulation within organs provides a new method
for site-selective neuromodulation to regulate specific physiological
functions.