(A) miniaturized ultrasonic neurostimulation system for wireless modulation of social interaction in mice

Abstract

Transcranial focused ultrasound stimulation (tFUS) is a promising direct brain stimulation technology, but suffers from bulky equipment. Stereotaxic system or tethered system still have some challenges on observing various behaviors in mice. Conducted studies about wireless ultrasound neurostimulation system have not succeeded in application in mice. This paper demonstrates the first miniaturized ultrasonic neurostimulation system for wireless modulation in social behaviors in mice. For lower dimension and light-weight system, Class E amplifier topology was optimized with impedance matching circuit to achieve voltage gain of 17 dB and power consumption below 1 W. With a miniaturized PUT capable of targeting basolateral amygdala in mice, the system was successfully packaged to be applied to social behavior experiment measuring social dominance. Our results offer potential broad applications in complex animal experimental setup, contributing to expansion of observable behaviors.