{
  "abstract": "Introduction: Transcranial low-intensity focused ultrasound (LIFU) is being explored as a non-invasive approach for neuromodulation to treat opioid use disorder (OUD). Methods: We evaluated MR-guided focused ultrasound, with LIFU, targeting nucleus accumbens (MRgLIFU-NAc) bilaterally, using MR-acoustic radiation force-imaging (MR-ARFI) to ensure accurate targeting and adjust for FUS intensity delivered at the target. Male and female rats were trained to self-administer fentanyl/sucrose (70ug/ml fentanyl citrate in 5% sucrose) or 5% sucrose alone. Three cohorts of rats (total n=76) were evaluated on progressive ratio (PR) responding for oral fentanyl/sucrose at either 4 or 24 hours post-MRgLIFU-NAc. Animals in the first two cohorts received repeated rounds of LIFU or sham (anesthesia-duration matched). In cohort 3, we used a counterbalanced within-subjects design in which rats received both LIFU and sham one week apart. Results: Reducing sucrose concentrations decreased responding for sucrose alone more than for fentanyl/sucrose, demonstrating a role for fentanyl in the reinforcing properties of fentanyl/sucrose. Across three sonication schemes, MRgLIFU-NAc did not attenuate PR performance for oral fentanyl/sucrose at 4 or 24-hours post-LIFU relative to controls. Adjusting LIFU intensity with MR-ARFI did not correlate with changes in PR from baseline. We confirmed that NAc is the correct target by bilateral inactivation of NAc with muscimol/baclofen mixture (50 + 50 ng/side), which reduced PR responding for fentanyl/sucrose. Conclusion: The three sets of LIFU parameters, with repeated MRgLIFU-NAc sessions, did not produce detectable changes in oral fentanyl/sucrose motivation. Further studies are required to determine effective LIFU parameters needed to reduce NAc-dependent fentanyl motivation.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": "New results",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 8,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "David A Martin",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-5783-7141"
    },
    {
      "name": "Abubakr Eldirdiri",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-3879-3881"
    },
    {
      "name": "Thomas Ernst",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-1211-7655"
    },
    {
      "name": "Eric Cunningham",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-8683-0923"
    },
    {
      "name": "Segun Bernard"
    },
    {
      "name": "Sandesh Kamdi",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-0688-1841"
    },
    {
      "name": "Donna J Calu",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-2377-9494"
    },
    {
      "name": "Linda Chang",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-1267-0699"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/3ncqg8n5z41n1.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.64898/2026.10.17.759605",
  "fulltext_url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.17.759605v1.full",
  "id": "3ncqg8n5z41n1",
  "issns": [
    "2692-8205"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.17.759605v1",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY-NC-ND",
  "licence_label": "CC BY-NC-ND",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "biorxiv",
      "neuroscience"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Article"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2204|Ultrasound and Hyperthermia Applications"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7223237039",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.17.759605v1.full.pdf",
  "pmcid": "PMC13738518",
  "pmid": "42995866",
  "published": "2026-10-17",
  "publisher": "Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Preprints",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/3ncqg8n5z41n1.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:29:12Z",
      "native_id": "10.64898/2026.10.17.759605",
      "source": "biorxiv",
      "url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.17.759605v1"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-09T12:23:29Z",
      "native_id": "PMC13738518",
      "source": "pmc",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.10.17.759605"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "biorxiv:neuroscience",
      "subfield": "neuroscience"
    }
  ],
  "title": "MR-Guided Focused Ultrasound Neuromodulation of Nucleus Accumbens to Attenuate Oral Fentanyl Motivation in A Self-Administration Rat Model",
  "title_text": "MR-Guided Focused Ultrasound Neuromodulation of Nucleus Accumbens to Attenuate Oral Fentanyl Motivation in A Self-Administration Rat Model",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-09T12:23:29Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/3ncqg8n5z41n1",
  "venue": "bioRxiv",
  "versions": []
}