MIT researchers have developed novel magnetic nanodiscs that could provide a less invasive way of stimulating parts of the brain, potentially paving the way for stimulation therapies without implants or genetic modification.
Novel magnetic nanodiscs could provide a much less invasive way of stimulating parts of the brain, paving the way for stimulation therapies without implants or genetic modification, researchers report.
Over the past decade other implant-free methods of producing brain stimulation have been developed. However, these approaches were often limited by their spatial resolution or ability to target deep regions. For the past decade, Anikeeva's Bioelectronics group as well as others in the field used magnetic nanomaterials to transduce remote magnetic signals into brain stimulation. However, these magnetic methods relied on genetic modifications and can't be used in humans.
One key to the discs' effectiveness is their disc shape. Previous attempts to use magnetic nanoparticles had used spherical particles, but the magnetoelectric effect was very weak, says Kim. This anisotropy enhances magnetostriction by over a 1000-fold, adds Kent. The team also stimulated another brain area, the subthalamic nucleus, associated with motor control."This is the region where electrodes typically get implanted to manage Parkinson's disease," Kim explains. The researchers were able to successfully demonstrate the modulation of motor control through the particles. Specifically, by injecting nanodiscs only in one hemisphere, the researchers could induce rotations in healthy mice by applying magnetic field.
"This massive enhancement of a thousand times didn't completely translate into the magnetoelectric enhancement," says Kim."That's where a lot of the future work will be focused, on making sure that the thousand times amplification in magnetostriction can be converted into a thousand times amplification in the magnetoelectric coupling."
Brain Stimulation Nanotechnology Deep Brain Stimulation Magnetic Nanoparticles Medical Research
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