# Secondary Histologic Analysis of TUS Studies

> **NIH NIH R03** · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $77,200

## Abstract

Project Abstract
The nucleus accumbens (NAc) is a target for non-invasive brain stimulation for the treatment of substance use
disorders (SUDs). Due to its location deep in the brain, transcranial ultrasound stimulation (TUS) is unique
among non-invasive brain stimulation methods to be able to focus on the NAc with high spatial resolution.
TUS has been shown to be effective in animal models, without any evidence of damage from either behavioral
studies, H&E stained sections, or TUNEL staining. Further, there have been millions of diagnostic imaging
studies at the pressures proposed for TUS, that have appeared to be safe. As a result, it is currently under
active investigation in humans.
However, when it comes to safety, we are compelled to examine all existing data. In particular, we have
existing data from our prior studies in which we applied TUS to the sheep brain and examined it on H&E
stained sections, as well as TUNEL staining. Here in this proposal, we seek to extend this analysis to the
examination of inflammatory cytokines and the examination of glial cells using immunohistochemistry. These
studies will give us a more complete picture whether TUS has an inflammatory effect on the brain.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10789363
- **Project number:** 1R03MH135445-01
- **Recipient organization:** STANFORD UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Kim Butts Pauly
- **Activity code:** R03 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $77,200
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-01-01 → 2025-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10789363

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10789363, Secondary Histologic Analysis of TUS Studies (1R03MH135445-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10789363. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*