A 10-Minute Ultrasound Treatment Eased Delusions in Early Schizophrenia Study, NYU Researchers Find

A single ten-minute session of gentle ultrasound, aimed at a tiny structure deep inside the brain, measurably reduced delusions in people with schizophrenia whose symptoms had persisted despite psychiatric medication, according to new research from scientists at NYU Langone Health. The experimental approach, called transcranial ultrasound stimulation, is noninvasive and medication-free, and the team says it offers early evidence that precisely tuned sound waves can adjust the brain circuits involved in psychosis.

The technique targets the globus pallidus interna, a small region deep in the brain that helps regulate movement, thinking, and emotions. Because of its location, the structure has been difficult to reach without invasive procedures, which is one reason researchers are excited about ultrasound: focused sound waves can be directed through the skull at specific points with a precision that other noninvasive stimulation methods struggle to match.

The study involved ten men and women with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. After a single treatment, patients' delusion scores dropped by an average of 1.2 points on a seven-point clinical scale. The number may sound modest, but the comparison mattered: when the same patients received a sham, or fake, treatment, their scores did not change at all. That contrast suggests the improvement came from the stimulation itself rather than from expectation or the passage of time. In effect, the patients served as their own comparison group, receiving both the real stimulation and the sham version.

Lead researcher Wei Qi, a clinical assistant professor of psychiatry at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, said the results offer early evidence that one session of ultrasound stimulation can safely tune a brain circuit linked to psychosis and produce a noticeable drop in delusions. Reported side effects, including headaches, fatigue, and temporary increases in psychotic symptoms, were mild and short-lived, the researchers said.

Delusions, fixed false beliefs that a person holds despite clear evidence to the contrary, are among the most disabling symptoms of schizophrenia, and they can persist even when other symptoms respond to antipsychotic drugs. That treatment gap is what makes the NYU work notable: the patients in the study were people whose delusions continued despite medication, a group with few good options. Researchers used imaging to guide the stimulation to its deep target, and they are now interested in whether the effect can be strengthened or sustained, and whether similar circuit-based approaches might eventually help with other stubborn symptoms of psychosis.

The findings come with important caveats. Ten patients is a very small sample, the study measured short-term effects, and it is not yet known whether benefits last or grow with repeated sessions. Larger, carefully controlled trials will be needed before the treatment could be considered for clinical use. Still, for a disorder in which many patients do not respond fully to existing drugs, a safe, noninvasive option that can reach deep brain structures would be a meaningful advance, and the NYU team says further research is warranted. Open questions include how long the benefit lasts after a single session, whether repeated treatments add to it, and which patients are most likely to respond.