High-Frequency Focused Ultrasound targeting the midbrain in the Guinea Pig Induces Activation and Plasticity of the Efferent System, and Protection Against Noise-Induced Hearing Loss
- 1Centre de Recherche en Psychologie et Neurosciences, UMR7077, CNRS - Aix-Marseille University
Abstract
Although focused ultrasound (FUS) offers promising opportunities for neuromodulation, its ability to activate central auditory neurons remains uncertain. We targeted the central nucleus of the inferior colliculus (CNIC) in anesthetized guinea pigs using 20-MHz FUS while recording cochlear and cortical activity. Consistent with previous studies, FUS delivered through a small craniotomy evoked cortical responses through indirect cochlear activation, potentially mediated by skull mechanical coupling. However, under conditions that minimized cochlear interaction, FUS induced c-Fos expression in the CNIC and auditory cortex, suggesting direct central activation of the auditory afferent pathway. FUS additionally engaged the auditory efferent system, presumably through medial olivocochlear neurons. FUS delivered before acoustic trauma nearly prevented noise-induced hearing loss, limiting threshold shifts to <10 dB compared with ~60 dB in controls. Gentamicin abolished both efferent modulation and protection, implicating cochlear efferent mechanisms. Together, these findings support FUS for auditory neuromodulation and cochlear protection against acoustic injury.
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BibTeX
@misc{parameshwarappa2026highfrequency,
title = {{High-Frequency Focused Ultrasound targeting the midbrain in the Guinea Pig Induces Activation and Plasticity of the Efferent System, and Protection Against Noise-Induced Hearing Loss}},
author = {V. Parameshwarappa and G. Rastoldo and E. Franceschini and O. Macherey and A. Norena},
howpublished = {bioRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.64898/2026.09.09.750439},
url = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.09.750439v1},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - High-Frequency Focused Ultrasound targeting the midbrain in the Guinea Pig Induces Activation and Plasticity of the Efferent System, and Protection Against Noise-Induced Hearing Loss
AU - V. Parameshwarappa
AU - G. Rastoldo
AU - E. Franceschini
AU - O. Macherey
AU - A. Norena
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/09
PB - bioRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.09.09.750439
UR - https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.09.750439v1
AB - Although focused ultrasound (FUS) offers promising opportunities for neuromodulation, its ability to activate central auditory neurons remains uncertain. We targeted the central nucleus of the inferior colliculus (CNIC) in anesthetized guinea pigs using 20-MHz FUS while recording cochlear and cortical activity. Consistent with previous studies, FUS delivered through a small craniotomy evoked cortical responses through indirect cochlear activation, potentially mediated by skull mechanical coupling. However, under conditions that minimized cochlear interaction, FUS induced c-Fos expression in the CNIC and auditory cortex, suggesting direct central activation of the auditory afferent pathway. FUS additionally engaged the auditory efferent system, presumably through medial olivocochlear neurons. FUS delivered before acoustic trauma nearly prevented noise-induced hearing loss, limiting threshold shifts to <10 dB compared with ~60 dB in controls. Gentamicin abolished both efferent modulation and protection, implicating cochlear efferent mechanisms. Together, these findings support FUS for auditory neuromodulation and cochlear protection against acoustic injury.
ER -