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, MIT researchers report.
Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyOct 12 2024
Deep brain stimulation is a common clinical procedure that uses electrodes implanted in the target brain regions to treat symptoms of neurological and psychiatric conditions such as Parkinson's disease and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Despite its efficacy, the surgical difficulty and clinical complications associated with DBS limit the number of cases where such an invasive procedure is warranted. The new nanodiscs could provide a much more benign way of achieving the same results.
Kim synthesized novel magnetoelectric nanodiscs and collaborated with Noah Kent, a postdoc in Anikeeva's lab with a background in physics who is a second author of the study, to understand the properties of these particles. The team first added their nanodiscs to cultured neurons, which allowed then to activate these cells on demand with short pulses of magnetic field. This stimulation did not require any genetic modification.
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.
While the researchers successfully increased the magnetostrictive effect, the second part of the process, converting the magnetic effect into an electrical output, still needs more work, Anikeeva says. While the magnetic response was a thousand times greater, the conversion to an electric impulse was only four times greater than with conventional spherical particles.
Brain Stimulation Deep Brain Stimulation Efficacy Genetic Hair Implants Magnetic Field Nanoparticles Nanotechnology Neurons Parkinson's Disease Research
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