# Ultrasound-induced artificial hibernation: Mimicking natural hibernation to enhance human health

> **NIH NIH DP1** · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $1,088,500

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
Hibernation is one of the most remarkable physiological traits observed across a spectrum of animal species.
Hibernating mammals reside primarily in a state known as torpor, characterized by lowered metabolism and
reduced body temperature to conserve energy and survive harsh conditions. This natural phenomenon has
inspired the concept of artificial hibernation (AH), which seeks to mimic the reduction in metabolism and body
temperature using artificial means. Hypometabolism induced by AH in humans has the promise to impact broad
medical domains, including enhancing survival rates during critical health events such as stroke and heart
attacks, inhibiting the proliferation of cancer cells, extending the viability of organs for transplantation, and
promoting longevity. However, noninvasive and safe induction of AH has remained within the realm of
science fiction.
My group recently discovered that stimulating specific neurons in the hypothalamus using ultrasound could
noninvasively, safely, and reversibly reduce metabolism and body temperature in mice. We found this effect was
associated with ultrasound-sensitive ion channels in torpor-associated neurons in the hypothalamus. While mice
naturally enter torpor under food deprivation and cold exposure, we showed the feasibility of inducing AH through
ultrasound in non-hibernating rats. Building on these promising discoveries, we propose the audacious
hypothesis that neural pathways critical for metabolism regulation are conserved across mammals and can
be activated by ultrasound. Our overarching goal is to pioneer a platform technique that harnesses ultrasound
for the noninvasive and safe induction of AH, thereby catalyzing disruptive medical innovations. To achieve this
ambitious goal, we will utilize an interdisciplinary approach that combines ultrasound engineering, system
neuroscience, physiology, molecular biology, brain functional imaging, and behavior assays to address three
pivotal questions: 1) What are the molecular, cellular, neural circuit, and system-level mechanisms that
underpin ultrasound-induced AH in mice and rats? 2) How effective is ultrasound-induced AH in treating stroke,
as demonstrated using rat stroke models? 3) Is the technique translatable to non-human primates as a critical
step toward human application?
Our proposed research program is innovative because it is expected to offer a disruptive technique to induce
AH, provide an unprecedented opportunity to elucidate the complex role of the nervous system in metabolism
regulation, pioneer the evaluation of ultrasound-induced AH in diseased models, and tackle the pivotal question
of AH feasibility in humans. If successful, this high-risk, high-reward project could redefine the landscape of
metabolism research and revolutionize the therapeutic manipulation of metabolic states. It could provide
compelling evidence for the clinical translation of ultrasound-induced AH and turn what was once a science-
fiction...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10925750
- **Project number:** 1DP1DK143574-01
- **Recipient organization:** WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Hong Chen
- **Activity code:** DP1 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $1,088,500
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-09-05 → 2029-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10925750

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10925750, Ultrasound-induced artificial hibernation: Mimicking natural hibernation to enhance human health (1DP1DK143574-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-12 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10925750. Licensed CC0.

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