-
E-mail
info@tvscope.cn
-
Phone
15261811715
-
Address
Super dimensional scenery
Beijing Chaoweijing Biotechnology Co., Ltd
Miniature two-photon technology helps discover that precise magnetic stimulation of the paraventricular nucleus can improve social skills in autistic mice
Date: 2025-08-14Read: 4
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder that typically involves multiple cortical and deep brain nuclei without obvious organic lesions. The complexity of the condition makes it difficult to study its underlying mechanisms, making it difficult to treat ASD through medication and surgical methods. Innovative therapies are urgently needed. Oxytocin has attracted much attention for its potential to improve core symptoms of ASD (social disorders, anxiety, stereotyped behavior, etc.), but synthetic oxytocin is difficult to simulate the physiological activity of brain-derived oxytocin, and individual differences are too large, resulting in unsatisfactory clinical efficacy. The paraventricular nucleus (PVN) of the hypothalamus is the core hub for the synthesis and release of oxytocin in the brain. Researchers have proposed a strategy of using physical techniques to target and activate PVN to promote brain-derived oxytocin release for the treatment of ASD. But PVN is located deep in the brain, and conventional physical intervention techniques are difficult to achieve precise targeting. For example, existing deep brain stimulation techniques (DBS) are limited in their application due to their strong invasiveness and issues with current diffusion; Although traditional magnetic stimulation techniques such as rTMS have non-invasive advantages, they are difficult to achieve specific regulation of PVN due to low spatial resolution and insufficient penetration depth.
On August 7, 2025, Dr. Sun Jianfei from Southeast University, Dr. Tan Tao from Oujiang Laboratory, Academician Gu Ning from Nanjing University, and Professor Zhang Zhijun from Shenzhen Advanced Technology Research Institute jointly published a research paper titled "Precise Magnetic Stimulation of the Paraventricular Nucleus Improvements Sociability in a Mouse Model of ASD" in Neuroscience Bulletin, reporting a strategy for improving social disorders in autistic mice by regulating the release of oxytocin from PVN neurons through precise magnetic stimulation technology mediated by superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles.
Screenshot of the online publication of the paper
In response to the problem of insufficient penetration depth in magnetic stimulation technology, researchers propose to use the magnetic confinement effect of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) to break through magnetic field limitations. This strategy uses a mild (<0.1T) and non focused magnetic field for stimulation, while utilizing SPIONs to enhance the magnetic effect of the target area, thus overcoming the inherent defects of the magnetic field. In this study, researchers achieved precise magnetic stimulation of the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) through a strategy mediated by superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPION).
The dynamic monitoring results of in vitro cells indicate that SPIONs combined with magnetic fields can significantly enhance calcium influx in Neuro-2a cells. Subsequently, the study compared the effects of repeated transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) combined with SPIONs and rTMS alone on calcium influx in N2a cells. The data shows that compared to rTMS alone, rTMS combined with SPIONs increased the average Δ F/F0 value of neurons to twice the baseline level (Figure 1B), indicating that the presence of magnetic nanomaterials can enhance the biological effects of magnetic stimulation.
In order to further verify the neural regulatory effect of this precision magnetic stimulation system (pMSS), researchers used the miniaturized two-photon microscopy imaging technology of Super Vision Biology to record the dynamic changes of calcium ions in excitatory neurons of the paraventricular nucleus after 10 minutes of magnetic stimulation. The results showed that the calcium transient of a single PVN neuron exhibited frequency dependent response characteristics, manifested by significant neuronal inhibition induced by low-frequency (1Hz) magnetic stimulation, while high-frequency magnetic stimulation activated PVN neurons. The 10Hz pMSS exhibited the most significant activation effect, with its peak Δ F/F0 value reaching nearly twice the baseline level (Figure 1H). This result not only confirms the long-term stability and good cellular uptake rate of SPIONs in the brain, confirming their safe and accurate delivery to the PVN region in vivo, but also reveals the frequency dependent characteristics of neuronal activation, providing new evidence for pMSS to achieve bidirectional modulation of neuronal activity.
Figure 1. pMSS effectively regulates neuronal activity
[Reference]
Liu, S., Yang, Q., Zhu, P. et al. Precise Magnetic Stimulation of the Paraventricular Nucleus Improves Sociability in a Mouse Model of ASD. Neurosci. Bull. (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12264-025-01444-x