GabyResearchers at the Korean Institute for Basic Science (IBS) have announced that they have created what they call the world’s first remote-control system for consciousness. It controls the brain remotely using magnetic fields. The technology is intended for noninvasive medical procedures, the Daily Mail reported.
Scientists named their invention Nano-MIND, which stands for “Nanomagnetic Genetic Interface for Neurodynamics.” The IBS team’s innovation involves genetically creating specialized nanomaterials whose effects in neurons in the brain can be adjusted remotely using carefully chosen magnetic fields. The method, officially called magnetomechanical genetics (MMG), underpins this brain modulation technology.
The team successfully tested the system on mice. During testing, the scientists attempted to awaken maternal instincts in the rodents and to control their appetite.
How the research was conducted
For their experiments, the scientists used specially bred, genetically modified laboratory mice. These mice were engineered to express magneto-sensitive ion channels at higher levels, which act like gates in their neurons, allowing certain ions to enter at specific times and at specific rates.
During a group test on maternal instincts, stimulation of MMG in some female mice prompted them to find their lost pups more quickly in a maze. The female mice stimulated by Nano-MIND approached the pups on average 16 seconds faster and picked them up more quickly.
The team also conducted a two-week experiment with control and experimental groups of mice to determine how the genetically modified animals would respond to Nano-MIND magnetic impulses designed to increase or decrease their appetite. The technology was able to reliably increase or decrease food intake. In the experiment where the MMG signal prompted the mice to eat more, their body mass increased by an average of 7.5 grams, about 18 percent. When mice were exposed to magnetic fields aimed at reducing appetite, each mouse lost about 4.3 grams, roughly 10 percent of its weight.
What the developers and experts say
“This is the world’s first technology that allows direct control of specific brain regions using magnetic fields,” said Professor Chon Jin Woo, director of the Nanomedicine Center at IBS, who led the project.
He said the system could be used across healthcare where it’s most needed.
“We expect the system will be widely used in research aimed at understanding brain function, developing complex artificial neural networks, enabling bidirectional brain-computer interfaces, and creating new treatments for neurological disorders,” Professor Chon Jin Woo said.
However, although remote control of consciousness sounds like science fiction, magnetic fields have been used in medicine for decades. “Using magnetic fields to control biological systems is now well known,” commented Dr. Felix Leroy, a senior researcher at the Institute of Neurology in Spain, about the new study.
In an article about Nano-MIND, which involved genetic modification in mice, Dr. Leroy warned developers against rushing to human trials. The research results were published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology.
