Sonogenetics

The acoustic analogue of optogenetics: genetically expressing an ultrasound-sensitive actuator in target cells so that otherwise-insensitive neurons can be activated by sound. First demonstrated in the nematode C. elegans using the mechanosensitive channel TRP-4, it has since been pursued in mammalian cells and neurons using candidate transducers such as mechanosensitive channels (MscL variants, hsTRPA1, TRPA1, Prestin) and, in some designs, gas vesicles that act as acoustic amplifiers.

Sonogenetics aims to combine ultrasound's deep, non-invasive reach with the cell-type specificity that focused ultrasound alone lacks. It remains early-stage: identifying a truly ultrasound-specific, sufficiently sensitive, well-expressing actuator is hard, off-target thermal and cavitation effects must be excluded, and like all genetic methods it requires delivering a transgene — so most demonstrations are in worms, cultured cells, or small rodent proofs-of-concept.