Ultrasound waves that jiggle deep brain structures may relieve delusions in schizophrenia, small trial hints

Stimulating the brain with ultrasound could help counter the delusions people experience in schizophrenia, a small trial finds.

The trial involved transcranial ultrasound stimulation, in which a device placed on a patient's head delivers ultrasound waves through the skull and into the brain.

Its goal is to change the activity in a targeted brain region.

Delusions are false beliefs that are very difficult to shake; for example, a person might believe they are being stalked when they aren't or think that a major disaster is about to occur without any evidence to suggest so.

In the trial, researchers found that a 10-minute session of the ultrasound treatment reduced the severity of delusions for at least a week in patients with schizophrenia or a related disorder.

This targeted ultrasound treatment delivered directly to the brain could avoid some of the full-body effects of antipsychotic medications, such as weight gain and high blood pressure .

That said, the new results, published Tuesday (Oct.

20) in the journal npj Acoustics , are a first step and will need further verification in larger trials.

"It's too early to know for certain what the therapeutic benefits will be, but it's very exciting," study co-author Dr.

Donald Goff , a professor of psychiatry at the New York University Grossman School of Medicine, told Live Science.

Targeting deep brain structures The pilot study included 10 patients with either schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder.

In both conditions, patients experience psychotic symptoms, including delusions and hallucinations.

Schizoaffective disorder also includes mood symptoms, such as mania.

The researchers interviewed each participant to characterize the content of their delusions, and also documented their cognitive state and experiences with auditory hallucinations — perceptions of sounds that aren't actually occurring.