Chemical delivery array with millisecond neurotransmitter release developed
Wednesday, November 2, 2016 - 13:01
in Health & Medicine
Our nerve and muscle cells send signals to each other using ions and molecules. Certain substances, such as the neurotransmitter GABA (gamma aminobutyric acid), are important signal substances throughout the central nervous system. Eighteen months ago, researchers at the Laboratory of Organic Electronics demonstrated an ion pump which researchers at the Karolinska Institutet could use to reduce the sensation of pain in awake, freely-moving rats. The ion pump delivered GABA directly to the rat´s spinal cord. The news that researchers could deliver the body's own neurotransmitters was published in Science Advances and garnered intense interest all over the world.