Ultrasonic thalamic stimulation in chronic disorders of consciousness

Despite great advances in the field of intensive care, when patients survive a severe brain injury but remain in a chronic Vegetative State (VS) or Minimally Conscious State (MCS) (i.e., a disorder of consciousness; DOC), little can be done to promote recovery [1]. To date, several restorative strategies have been investigated in DOC patients—all proposed to exert their effects via direct or indirect upregulation of excitatory thalamic output and, in turn, upregulation of a large scale cortico-striato-pallido-thalamo-cortical mesocircuit [1,2].