RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Focused ultrasound enhances sensorimotor decision-making in monkeys
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 041152
DO 10.1101/041152
A1 Matthew E Downs
A1 Tobias Teichert
A1 Amanda Buch
A1 Maria Eleni Karakatsani
A1 Carlos Sierra
A1 Shangshang Chen
A1 Elisa E Konofagou
A1 Vincent P Ferrera
YR 2016
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2016/11/21/041152.abstract
AB Noninvasive brain stimulation using focused ultrasound has many potential applications as a research and clinical tool. Here, we investigated the effect of focused ultrasound (FUS) combined with systemically administered microbubbles on visual-motor decision-making behavior in monkeys. We applied FUS to the putamen in one hemisphere to open the blood-brain barrier, and then tested behavioral performance 3-4 hours later. On days when the monkeys were treated with FUS, their decisions were faster and more accurate than days without sonication. The performance improvement suggested both a shift in the decision criterion and an enhancement of the use of sensory evidence in the decision process. FUS also interacted with the effect of a low dose of haloperidol. The results suggest that a two-minute application of FUS can have a sustained impact on performance of complex cognitive tasks, and may increase the efficacy of psychoactive medications. The results lend further support to the idea that the dorsal striatum plays an integral role in evidence- and reward-based decision-making.