Transcranial ultrasound stimulation selectively enhances fronto-temporal context-guided memory

Slater, B. J. A.; Caffaratti, H.; Kaiser, M.; Sallet, J.; Degenaar, P.; Easton, A.; Kikuchi, Y.; Griffiths, T.; Petkov, C.

doi:10.64898/2025.12.19.695543

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bioRxiv · 10.64898/2025.12.19.695543

Transcranial ultrasound stimulation selectively enhances fronto-temporal context-guided memory

Slater, B. J. A.·Caffaratti, H.·Kaiser, M.·Sallet, J.·Degenaar, P.·Easton, A.·Kikuchi, Y.·Griffiths, T.·Petkov, C.

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Abstract

There is substantial scientific interest in advancing knowledge on the control mechanisms supporting adaptive memory and improving approaches that can enhance cognition through brain stimulation. We implemented a non-invasive focal Transcranial Ultrasound Stimulation (TUS) approach with known longer-lasting post-stimulation effects in two rhesus macaques performing a novel context-dependent memory-sequencing task implemented on multiple touchscreens within their home units. Consistently in both monkeys, TUS to the anterior, but not posterior, medial temporal lobe enhanced performance under stable memory-sequencing contexts. TUS to the medial prefrontal cortex, on the other hand, selectively improved performance when contexts were unstable and the monkey needed to adapt to both a change in context and temporal sequence. These findings provide positive causal evidence of a functional dissociation within fronto-temporal memory circuits and pave the way for advancing non-invasive approaches to improve cognitive function and the study of neural circuits under focal enhancement across species. IMPACT STATEMENTTranscranial ultrasound stimulation of the prefrontal-hippocampal network selectively enhances context-guided memory in macaques, demonstrating that non-invasive brain stimulation can causally improve, rather than only disrupt, memory circuits.

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Slater, B. J. A., Caffaratti, H., Kaiser, M., Sallet, J., Degenaar, P., Easton, A., Kikuchi, Y., Griffiths, T., Petkov, C.. 2025-12-22. Transcranial ultrasound stimulation selectively enhances fronto-temporal context-guided memory. https://doi.org/10.64898/2025.12.19.695543

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