Noninvasive Neuromodulation

MRI-guided focused ultrasound can treat tremor in Parkinson's disease and essential tremor without incision or implanted electrodes. Noninvasive approaches are promising but often lack sufficient precision or mechanistic understanding for psychiatric targets. For psychiatric disease, obesity, and eating disorders, the major barrier is uncertainty about which brain target to ablate or stimulate. TMS is FDA approved for depression, OCD, and nicotine addiction. Focused ultrasound is being studied for modulation and for opening the blood-brain barrier to deliver medication.