Figure 2.

Proposed ultrasonic stimulation's mechanisms for neuromodulation. Depicted in column 1 are six neuronal membranes (four with an ion channel [rows A,C,D,E] and two neuronal membranes [rows B,F] with polar lipid bilayer) and a neuron with the microtubules highlighted (row G). Depicted in column 2, these membranes have four types of electrophysiological-mechanical coupling during an action potential: change in membrane conformation state, thermodynamic waves, direct flexoelectricity, and opening of mechanosensitive ion channels (see Section above). Column 3 depicts these same four electrophysiological-mechanical coupling during US stimulation along with three other possible mechanisms of US's neuromodulation: thermal modulation, sonoporation and cavitation, and microtubule resonance (see Section above).