Transcranial ultrasound stimulation of the right globus pallidus interna in schizophrenia: A randomized, sham-controlled pilot study

Published October 20, 2026. In a 10-person crossover pilot, delusion ratings improved more after one focused-ultrasound session than after sham. Hallucination and cognition measures did not show significant differences. The early signal is encouraging, but the scale's clinical meaning is uncertain and seven days is too short to establish a durable treatment effect.

Qi W, Gilad A, Santacatterina M, Brinker S, Capichioni G, Ando F, Shoham S, Goff DC.
npj Acoustics · Publication date: 2026-10-20
Added to site: 2026-10-27
DOI: 10.1038/s44384-026-00076-3

Published October 20, 2026. Added to Neurofeedback.com October 27, 2026 within the rolling seven-day source window.

Modalities

Transcranial ultrasound stimulation, MRI-guided neuromodulation

Clinical focus

Schizophrenia, Schizoaffective disorder, Delusions

Population

Outpatients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder and persistent psychosis

Sample

10 participants completed both active and sham sessions; 50% were women and mean age was 37.5 years

Intervention / method

One MRI-guided 10-minute session targeting the right globus pallidus interna and one sham session in random order, separated by one week, with repeated assessments through seven days

Comparator

Within-participant sham ultrasound session

Clinician summary

The adjusted active-versus-sham treatment estimate for the Delusion Experience Sampling Assessment was -1.56 points, 95% CI -2.54 to -0.58, p=0.002, Cohen's d=0.68. Auditory Hallucinations Rating Scale change was not significant, estimate -0.40, 95% CI -1.18 to 0.38, and cognitive change was not significant. No serious adverse event occurred; seven participants after active TUS and all 10 after sham reported at least one increased SAFTEE item.

How to interpret the findings

This was a 10-person pilot with one active session and seven days of follow-up. Technical problems prevented analysis of the planned fMRI target-engagement data. The DESA was designed for brief ecological sampling and has not been validated as a clinically significant treatment-response measure. Six participants guessed the condition correctly, expectancy cannot be excluded, dosing was not individualized for skull transmission, and individual trajectories were heterogeneous. Four participants were not taking antipsychotic medication, while six remained on stable medication.

Equipment and disclosures

The full text describes a custom 350 kHz single-element system with MRI-based neuronavigation and named component suppliers. It does not identify BrainMaster equipment, and the result does not establish equivalence to other ultrasound systems or protocols.

Registered as ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05643196. Supported by the Doris Duke Foundation Fund to Retain Clinical Scientists, Brain and Behavior Research Foundation Young Investigator Grant 31725 and the Max G. Schlapp Mental Hygiene Fund. The authors declared no competing interests, and the full text states that funders had no role in study design, conduct, analysis or reporting. No retraction or concern flag appeared in the retained PubMed and Crossref records; this is a bounded check. AI-assisted source review.

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