2010 | OriginalPaper | Buchkapitel
Introducing Nanoneuroscience as a Distinct Discipline
verfasst von : Nancy J. Woolf, Avner Priel, Jack A. Tuszynski
Erschienen in: Nanoneuroscience
Verlag: Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Aktivieren Sie unsere intelligente Suche, um passende Fachinhalte oder Patente zu finden.
Wählen Sie Textabschnitte aus um mit Künstlicher Intelligenz passenden Patente zu finden. powered by
Markieren Sie Textabschnitte, um KI-gestützt weitere passende Inhalte zu finden. powered by
Nanoneuroscience is a new emerging discipline that seeks to solve certain hitherto intractable problems in the neurosciences using nanoscientific perspectives and tools. These state–of–the–art methods stand to meet some of the most challenging feats in neuroscience, such as finding better means of diagnosis, treatment, and prevention for various neurological, neurodevelopmental, and neuropsychiatric disorders. Nanotechnology is arguably one of the most optimal ways currently available to address the core essence of higher cognitive functions. A nanoscale emphasis on the mechanical interactions of biomolecules is uniquely capable of demonstrating the multiple ways in which neurons communicate and transmit signals, ranging from the traditional means of interneuronal and intraneuronal communication to novel modes of biomolecular computation. Notable milestones in nanoscience include the development of instruments and techniques enabling interactions with small surfaces or individual molecules, such as scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), atomic force microscopy (ATM), and nanotweezers. These tools operate in the nanometer size range and have the potential to reveal details about molecular events and subcellular operations within neurons. Nanoscientists have also developed a wide variety of nanomaterials – carbon nanotubes, nanoparticles, nanowires, and quantum dots, among others – that can be used to probe and stimulate neurons or parts of neurons. Nanoparticle–based drug delivery systems (or gene therapy delivery systems) showing enhanced ability to cross the blood–brain barrier could potentially be used to treat a number of neurological, neurodevelopmental, and neuropsychiatric diseases. Nanomaterials, used alone and in hybrid combinations with other materials, can be used to diagnose nervous system disorders, to measure neurotransmitter levels or electrical activity in discrete brain sites, to stimulate discrete brain sites, and finally, to build potential nanoscale prosthetic devices that restore normal neural activity patterns and cognitive function.