The use of light to stimulate neurons using techniques such as optogenetics has been tremendously useful but also has certain limitations. Two recent papers report on the use of nanoparticles to artificially stimulate neurons. Carvalho-de-Souza et al. report a technique that uses gold nanoparticles conjugated to neuronal membrane proteins. Light pulses are transduced by these conjugated nanoparticles into heat, which results in neuronal depolarization. Importantly, these ligand-conjugated nanoparticles enabled neuronal stimulation with smaller increases in temperature than other similar techniques. In a separate study, magnetosensitive nanoparticles, which release heat when exposed to a magnetic field, were used to activate the heat- and capsaicin-sensitive transient receptor potential cation channel TRPV1. Chen et al. showed that exposure of cultured primary hippocampal neurons expressing TRPV1 to a magnetic field could induce magnetothermal depolarization. Lentiviral delivery of TRPV1 into the ventral tegmental area of mice followed by magnetic nanoparticle administration to the same area enabled wireless magnetothermal stimulation to trigger neuronal firing in targeted neurons and in downstream brain areas. Both of these techniques offer advantages over other techniques and expand the repertoire of techniques available to neuroscientists for selective neuronal activation.