Study finds ultrasound technology can be used to increase mindfulness

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One of the fascinating abilities of the human mind is daydreaming, where the mind wanders to spontaneous thoughts, fantasies and scenarios, often without conscious effort, allowing creativity and reflection to flow freely.

In a new study published in the journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, researchers at the University of Arizona used low-intensity ultrasound technology to non-invasively alter brain regions associated with activities such as daydreaming, memory recall, and envisioning the future. The researchers found that this technique could ultimately increase mindfulness, marking a major advancement in the field of neuroscience.

The researchers used a low-intensity ultrasound technique called transcranial focused ultrasound (TFUS) to modify the brain’s default mode network, a system of connections between brain regions that becomes especially active during activities such as daydreaming.

“We are the first to show that the default mode network can be directly targeted and modulated non-invasively,” said Brian Lord, a postdoctoral researcher in the University of Alberta’s Department of Psychology and lead author of the study.

One region in the default mode network, the posterior cingulate cortex, plays a key role in how the mind perceives experience, said Lord, of the Science Enhanced Mindfulness Lab (SEMA Lab) in the University’s Center for Consciousness Research. The default mode network is active when people introspect, allow their minds to wander, engage in stories, recall past memories or plan future scenarios.

“This is how we form the narrative about ourselves,” Lord said.

Lord said that while this type of storytelling is natural and important for achieving a coherent sense of self, it can also prevent people from being in the present moment. For example, it can lead to rumination and negative thinking when someone is trying to meditate.

To increase mindfulness and help people be more engaged in the present moment, Lord’s team used TFUS, a tool that can stimulate specific areas of the brain non-invasively with millimeter-level precision.

Unlike other non-invasive brain stimulation techniques, such as transcranial electrical stimulation and transcranial magnetic stimulation, TFUS can penetrate beneath the brain’s outermost layer, the cortex, and can induce significant effects after just five minutes of stimulation.

The experiment involved 30 participants who underwent TFUS to the posterior cingulate cortex of the brain’s default mode network. The researchers used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to observe changes in brain activity. Participants were asked to report their feelings and experiences before and after TFUS treatment.

The study found that TFUS reduced brain connectivity within the default mode network, affecting participants’ subjective experiences such as mindfulness, self-awareness, and perception of time.

“The best part is that we’re using minimal energy to change brain activity — we’re just gently stimulating the brain with low-intensity ultrasound,” Lord said.

The ability to target and modify brain networks opens up the possibility that TFUS could be used for precision medicine — medical treatments that are specifically tailored to an individual’s unique characteristics, including their genetic makeup, lifestyle and environment. TFUS could also be used to treat mood disorders such as depression and anxiety, and other research groups are currently exploring that possibility, Lord said.

“Unlike neuroimaging techniques, which can only look at correlations with brain activity, noninvasive stimulation tools like TFUS allow us to look at the brain and develop causal models,” Lord says, “and that’s really powerful for the entire field of neuroscience.”

reference: Lord B, Sanguinetti JL, Ruiz L, et al. “Transcranial focused ultrasound to the posterior cingulate cortex modulates the default mode network and subjective experience: an fMRI pilot study.” Front Hum Neuroscience2024;18:1392199. Source: 10.3389/fnhum.2024.1392199

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