A Wireless Cortical Surface Implant for Diagnosing and Alleviating Parkinson's Disease Symptoms in Freely Moving Animals

A wireless cortical surface implant employing graphene electrode arrays diagnoses and alleviates Parkinson's disease symptoms in freely moving animals. The device continuously monitors cortical activity and delivers targeted stimulation, restoring beta–gamma and delta oscillations. It improves motor function by promoting synaptic plasticity in glutamatergic and dopaminergic circuits, demonstrating a promising closed-loop neurotherapeutic approach.

Abstract

Parkinson's disease (PD), one of the most common neurodegenerative diseases, is involved in motor abnormality, primarily arising from the degeneration of dopaminergic neurons. Previous studies have examined the electrotherapeutic effects of PD using various methodological contexts, including live conditions, wireless control, diagnostic/therapeutic aspects, removable interfaces, or biocompatible materials, each of which is separately utilized for testing the diagnosis or alleviation of various brain diseases. Here, a cortical surface implant designed to improve motor function in freely moving PD animals is presented. This implant, a minimally invasive system equipped with a graphene electrode array, is the first integrated system to exhibit biocompatibility, wearability, removability, target specificity, and wireless control. The implant positioned at the motor cortical surface activates the motor cortex to maximize therapeutic effects and minimize off-target effects while monitoring motor activities. In PD animals, cortical motor surface stimulation restores motor function and brain waves, which corresponds to potentiated synaptic responses. Furthermore, these changes are associated with the upregulation of metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGluR5, Grm5) and D5 dopamine receptor (D₅R, Drd5) genes in the glutamatergic synapse. The newly designed wireless neural implant demonstrates capabilities in both real-time diagnostics and targeted therapeutics, suggesting its potential as a wireless system for biomedical devices for patients with PD and other neurodegenerative diseases.