Advancements in organic bioelectronics have helped researchers at Sweden’s Karolinska Institutet, in collaboration with Linköping University, develop an artificial neuron that mimics the functions of human neurons. Previously, scientists were limited to electrical stimulation of neurons in the brain, but this new development might one day allow for biochemical communication between an artificial neuron and the real thing.

The device is currently the size of a fingertip, but could one day be miniaturized and implanted in the brain where it would be controlled remotely, allowing researchers or physicians (or those with more sinister motives) to manipulate brain chemistry in the patient or host. The ultimate goal of this research would be to improve treatment and care of neurological disorders by exerting greater control over neurotransmitters responsible for chemical reactions in the brain.

Click here for a PDF file of the full report in Biosensors and Bioelectronics.