magnetoelectric nanoparticles (MENPs)

Nanoparticles, typically a magnetic core inside a shell of another material, that produce a small local electric field when a magnetic field is applied to them. Because neurons work on electrical signals, researchers are studying them as a way to stimulate, and possibly record, brain activity without surgery or wires.

The work is at the laboratory and animal stage. Experiments have stimulated and, in a 2024 cell-culture study, also suppressed neural activity, and earlier mouse studies used a magnet to draw injected particles into the brain.

Documented real-world example: magnetoelectric nanoparticles were part of DARPA’s Next-Generation Nonsurgical Neurotechnology (N3) programme, which sought two-way brain–machine interfaces for able-bodied service members. A Battelle-led project called BrainSTORMS proposed injecting magnetoelectric nanotransducers and communicating with them through a helmet-based transceiver.

Related terms: nanoparticle, electromagnetic field, blood–brain barrier, brain–computer interface

Sources: Battelle to develop injectable bi-directional brain-computer interface — Medical Design Briefs; Controlling action potentials with magnetoelectric nanoparticles — Brain Stimulation (2024)