- Inspired by the field of optogenetics, which controls certain genetically modified neurons using light, South Korean scientists have used a similar technique using magnetic fields.
- In a series of tests, scientists were able to control a mouse’s eating, sociability and parental behavior by manipulating certain regions of the lateral hypothalamus.
- This technique could prove useful in treating disabling neurological disorders or possibly improve outcomes in the already growing field of transcranial magnetic stimulation.
When people answer the age-old question of what superpower they wish they had, mind control usually tops the list. Now, scientists at the Institute of Basic Science (IBS) and Yonsei University in South Korea are taking a big step toward making that hypothesis a little more real by using magnetic fields to control mice.
And it’s not just about improving an impressive piece of Professor X cosplay: This breakthrough could one day help scientists understand elevated brain function in humans while solving some of our biggest mental health challenges.
To create this science-fiction-worthy technology, the team developed a Magnetogenetic Interface Device for Neurodynamics, or Nano-MIND, designed to manipulate specific regions of the brain related to cognition, emotion, and motivation. In its most basic form, this technique, known as magnetogenetics, uses nanoparticle switches that can essentially be turned on and off via noninvasive magnetic fields, allowing control of some rudimentary brain functions. The results of the study were published in the journal Natural nanotechnology.
“This is the world’s first technology that can freely control specific brain regions using magnetic fields,” Jinwoo Cheon, director of the IBS Center for Nanomedicine and co-author of the study, said in a press release. “We hope it will be widely used in research to understand brain functions, sophisticated artificial neural networks, bidirectional brain-computer interface technologies, and new treatments for neurological disorders.”
The use of magnetic stimulation for therapeutic purposes is not new, but trying to achieve a quantifiable amount of specific mental control certainly is, and to achieve this, a world first, SCI scientists first targeted receptors in the lateral hypothalamus of the brain, a region closely associated with feeding and reward behaviors.
According to the researchers, when mice were subjected to the magnetic field with switches on their excitatory neurons, it led to a 50% reduction in feeding behavior, while the same switches on inhibitory neurons increased feeding behavior by 100%. Similar tests performed in the lateral hypothalamus also influenced some social behaviors, as a mouse under the influence of a magnetic field became friendlier toward other unfamiliar mice.
Finally, the team conducted tests targeting the medial preoptic area, another brain region of the hypothalamus closely associated with parental care. The results showed that a mouse implanted with Nano-MIND responded more directly to the cries of the young mice than those that were not subjected to any magnetic influence.
This field of magnetogenetics is a direct result of previous experiments using optogenetic techniques. In 2016, scientists at Stanford University implanted LED lamps (i.e. opto(genetic) on nerves in the head and right leg of a mouse. Similarly, the technique could “activate” genetically modified neurons designed to respond to flashes of light. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) has already shown promise in alleviating symptoms of severe depression in humans, and while a medical intervention such as a Nano-MIND device is somewhat more complex, the technique could one day provide similar therapeutic results for a variety of human neurological disorders.
Of course, modifying a mouse brain is a little different from the incredibly complex neural landscape found in the human brain. After all, a mouse brain contains only 75 million neurons, while the human brain has 86. billion.
Hey, no one ever said becoming an X-Man would be easy.
Darren lives in Portland, has a cat, and writes/edits about science fiction and how our world works. You can find his previous articles on Gizmodo and Paste if you look hard enough.
