Magnetoelectric nanodiscs diminish motor deficits in a model of Parkinson's disease
Deep brain stimulation (DBS) with electrodes implanted in the subthalamic nucleus (STN) alleviates motor symptoms in Parkinson's disease (PD). However, the surgical complexity and associated side effects limit deployment of DBS to late-stage patients. Here, we explore a neuromodulation approach that employs locally injected magnetoelectric nanodiscs (MENDs) as an alternative to electrode-based DBS. The MENDs, composed of Fe3O4 cores and two consecutive shells of magnetostrictive CoFe2O4 and piezoelectric BaTiO3, convert weak magnetic fields into electric polarization, enabling remote neuronal excitation in the mouse STN comparable to electrode DBS. To assess the effects of the MEND and electrode DBS on motor performance in a unilateral mouse model of PD, we develop a computational pipeline that extracts salient gate features. Our findings suggest that DBS mediated by the injected MENDs not only diminishes motor symptoms associated with PD but may also inform future strategies for early-stage interventions aimed at delaying disease progression.