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Scientists at the Institute for Basic Science (IBS) in South Korea have developed a new way to control the minds of mice by manipulating nanoparticle-activated "switches" inside their brains with an external magnetic field.
The system, dubbed Nano-MIND (Magnetogenetic Interface for NeuroDynamics), works by controlling targeted regions of the brain by activating neural circuits.
While it's not the first "mind control" experiment involving animals, previous approaches have conventionally relied on invasive surgery and bulky external systems that limit the movement of test subjects, as Science Alert points out.
"This is the world's first technology to freely control specific brain regions using magnetic fields," said Jinwoo Cheon, director of the IBS Center for Nanomedicine, and senior author of a new paper published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology, in a statement about the research.
"We expect it to be widely used in research to understand brain functions, sophisticated artificial neural networks, two-way [brain-computer interface] technologies, and new treatments for neurological disorders," he added.
In experiments, the researchers activated inhibitory neurons within specific areas of the brain to increase appetite and feeding behaviors by 100 percent. By exciting these neurons, the team could conversely reduce the food the mice ate by 50 percent.
They also used the system to selectively activate receptors responsible for maternal behaviors in the brains of female mice that hadn't reproduced. By activating these pathways, the mice "significantly increased nurturing behaviors, such as bringing pups to their nest, similar to maternal mice," according to a press release.
In a third experiment, the researchers managed to activate brain regions responsible for boosting "friendly" behaviors, encouraging mice to get along with other mice in a small chamber they had never met before.
The scientists manipulated the neurons by magnetically twisting a tiny actuator to pull or push nanoparticles implanted in the mice's brains.
The research could lay the groundwork for novel nanotechnology-based treatments for neurological conditions in humans. It might even help to treat depression.
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