Bionic Neurons

Electrical stimulation has been used to trigger and stimulate nerve signals in the past, but now Swedish scientists have developed an electronic ion pump that can stimulate nerve cells with  neurotransmitters – just as nature intended – and almost as fast (1). “With the electronic release of neurotransmitters, we can achieve much more selective regulation of neuronal signaling, as we are using the natural signal entities of mammalians,” says Magnus Berggren, Director of the Strategic Research Center for Organic Bioelectronics at Linköping University, and one of the paper’s authors.

The team had previously used a similar device to pump GABA neurotransmitter directly into the spinal cord of rats, and found that it reduced the animals’ reactions to pain (2). However, the team’s ongoing prime objective is to develop a generic “tool” that is able to address many neurological diseases, according to Berggren – and that requires a faster and more precise system. “One of our projects relates to the suppression of epileptic seizures, which requires the local release of neurotransmitters within just a few tens of milliseconds,” he says. The next-generation pump can precisely deliver neurotransmitters at speeds comparable to the body’s own synapses, opening many new avenues of therapeutic potential. The team is already running projects that target chronic pain, epilepsy, and loss of hearing via the spinal cord, brain tissue, and cochlea, respectively.

The newest version of the ion pump has yet to be tested in live cells, but the team have big plans, with their sights set firmly on making the device more easily implantable. “We’re also developing technology to allow us to electronically deliver more interesting molecules,” says Berggren.