Volume 2 Issue 8, August 2024

Neuromodulation and brain–computer interfaces are rapidly evolving fields with distinct origins but with the shared goal of improving the lives of people with neurological and psychiatric disorders or injuries. Their increasing technological overlap provides new opportunities for collaborative work and rapid progress in neurotechnology.

Postdoctoral researchers (postdocs), vital contributors to academia, often face vulnerability and uncertainty. Here is a wish list from a fellow postdoc, outlining key measures to improve postdoctoral life — from employment stability and fair compensation to better work-life balance and mentorship.

Organoid intelligence towards biocomputing may provide insights into the neuroscience of learning and memory, and offer a biohybrid form of information processing. Advances in brain region-specific organoid engineering, sensors and signal-processing tools, integration of artificial intelligence, and miniaturization will pave the way for organoid intelligence to make an impact in biomedicine and beyond.

An article in Nature reports the generation of human chimeric brain organoids that integrate cells from multiple donors.

An article in Science Robotics reports green algae-based microrobots, carrying macrophage membrane-coated nanoparticles, that can be orally administered to neutralize proinflammatory cytokines in the gastrointestinal tract to treat inflammatory bowel disease.

Despite inspiring proof-of-concepts that are often widely covered by the media, only a few neurotechnologies have firmly established themselves as clinical solutions. In this Review, we discuss opportunities and shortcomings of this technology, and provide a framework to facilitate clinical and commercial translation.

Stimulation therapy for neuropsychiatric disorders is hindered by the complexity and inter-individual and intra-individual variability in symptom manifestations, neural representations and response to therapy. Brain–computer interfaces could model the brain response to stimulation and decode the symptom state of a patient from brain activity as feedback to personalize the stimulation therapy in closed loop.

Soft bioelectronic devices are made from polymer-based and hybrid electronic materials that form natural interfaces with the human body. In this Review, the authors present recent developments in soft bioelectronic sensors and actuators, and discuss system-level integration for wearable and implantable medical applications.

Brain-on-a-chip models, mimicking brain physiology, hold promise for developing treatments for neurological disorders. This Review discusses the engineering challenges and opportunities for these devices, including the integration of 3D cell cultures and electrodes and scaffold engineering strategies.