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Review
. 2021 Apr 26;13(4):e14700.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.14700.

Neuromodulation via Focal Radiation: Radiomodulation Update

M Bret Schneider  1   2 , Brian Walcott  3   4 , John R Adler Jr  5
Affiliations
Review

Neuromodulation via Focal Radiation: Radiomodulation Update

M Bret Schneider et al. Cureus. .

Abstract

When radiation is focally delivered to brain tissue at sub-ablative doses, neural activity may be altered. When done at a specific brain circuit node or connection, this is referred to as "radiomodulation." Radiation-induced effects on brain tissue, basic science, and clinical research that supports the radiomodulation hypothesis are reviewed in this article. We review progress in defining the necessary parameters in terms of dose, volumes, and anatomical location. It may be possible to deliver therapeutic neuromodulation that is non-invasive, non-destructive, and durable.

Keywords: behavioral disorders; functional disorders; neuromodulation; psychiatric disorders; radiation; radiomodulation; radiosurgery.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared financial relationships, which are detailed in the next section.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Yeh et al. showed 10-40 Gy increases and 60-120 Gy decreases in metabolism by PET in a focal cortical brain region. A 7.5-mm diameter radiosurgical target in the left primary motor cortex. FDG-PET signal at target relative to the contralateral region followed up to 270 days post-radiation.
FDG-PET: 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography; M1: primary motor cortex; PET: positron emission tomography; SUV: standardized uptake value at target zone versus contralateral zone Reprinted with permission with annotations (Yeh et al. [34])
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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