About this Research Topic
Neuromodulation at high spatial precision poses great significance in understanding the flow of information in the nervous system, thus providing enticing opportunities to decipher and manipulate the intricate organization of the mammalian brain. For the last few decades, optical, acoustic, and photoacoustic neuromodulation modalities have thrived with compelling and promising progress extensively covering fundamental research and clinical studies. As a rapidly growing modality, optogenetics has been harnessed in a myriad of brain neuromodulation studies with high precision and cell-type specificity. Recently, sonogenetics has aroused great interest by virtue of the high tissue penetration depth and cell-type specificity. Toward nongenetic stimulation, photothermal neural stimulation has attracted increasing attention in basic science and translational applications. Focused ultrasound neuromodulation, another emerging modulation modality, shows the unique advantages of deep brain modulation with high spatial precision. Furthermore, the photoacoustic technique is a novel way to generate ultrasound benefiting from the merits of ultrasound with high penetration depth as well as the photons with high spatial precision.
This field is evolving quickly by virtue of the rapid development in optics and acoustics, while the performance, modulation protocols, and treatment strategies varied a lot among studies, with the underlying mechanisms remaining unclear and controversial. Thus, to promote their clinical translation, improving in spatial, and temporal resolution and cell type specificity, standardized protocols, and a deeper understanding of the mechanisms is an urgent need. This Research Topic aims at collecting studies focusing on the development of novel approaches for high precision neuromodulation based on optics and acoustics, mechanistic studies unveiling the underlying biophysics, and comprehensive characterization of the parameters used in animal models and translational studies.
A broad scope of contributions, which can be Original Research, Systematic Review, Methods, Review, Mini Review, Perspective, and Case Report articles, encompassing all levels of scientific investigation, from theoretical to clinical studies, is welcome in this Research Topic.
We welcome manuscripts on Topics such as:
- In silico, in vitro, in vivo, clinical, theoretical studies as well as computational models.
- Neuromodulation methods including, but not limited to ultrasound, photoacoustics, optogenetics, sonogenetics, photothermal, photovoltaic, and novel unseen alternatives.
-Cell modulation applications in CNS and PNS include neurons, glial cells, retina (ganglion cells, bipolar cells), peripheral nerves, etc.
-Studies in the cellular mechanism including ion channels, membrane capacitance, membrane poration, temperature, etc.
-Safety and efficacy evaluation and standardization.
This field is evolving quickly by virtue of the rapid development in optics and acoustics, while the performance, modulation protocols, and treatment strategies varied a lot among studies, with the underlying mechanisms remaining unclear and controversial. Thus, to promote their clinical translation, improving in spatial, and temporal resolution and cell type specificity, standardized protocols, and a deeper understanding of the mechanisms is an urgent need. This Research Topic aims at collecting studies focusing on the development of novel approaches for high precision neuromodulation based on optics and acoustics, mechanistic studies unveiling the underlying biophysics, and comprehensive characterization of the parameters used in animal models and translational studies.
A broad scope of contributions, which can be Original Research, Systematic Review, Methods, Review, Mini Review, Perspective, and Case Report articles, encompassing all levels of scientific investigation, from theoretical to clinical studies, is welcome in this Research Topic.
We welcome manuscripts on Topics such as:
- In silico, in vitro, in vivo, clinical, theoretical studies as well as computational models.
- Neuromodulation methods including, but not limited to ultrasound, photoacoustics, optogenetics, sonogenetics, photothermal, photovoltaic, and novel unseen alternatives.
-Cell modulation applications in CNS and PNS include neurons, glial cells, retina (ganglion cells, bipolar cells), peripheral nerves, etc.
-Studies in the cellular mechanism including ion channels, membrane capacitance, membrane poration, temperature, etc.
-Safety and efficacy evaluation and standardization.
Keywords: neuromodulation, ultrasound, photoacoustics，sonogenetics, optogenetics, photothermal, photovoltaic
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
