Feasibility of Neural Activity Modulation with Lithium Niobate Photo-Induced Electric Fields: A Simulation Study

Lithium niobate (LiNbO₃) is a synthetic crystalline material, renowned for its outstanding electro-optic and optical properties that have enabled its use across a plethora of applications in photonics, telecommunications and quantum optics. Recently, its demonstrated biocompatibility has sparked growing interest in biomedical research, especially for neurotechnological applications. This work investigates the potential of LiNbO₃ as a platform for neural modulation via photoelectrically induced extracellular fields. We developed a simulation model to analyze the dynamics of single-cell activity in neurons cultured on LiNbO₃ substrates, incorporating both the effects of photo-stimulation and patch-clamping. Our findings suggest that external electric fields can significantly alter neuronal response to patch clamp stimulations. In addition, we discuss in vitro experiments that could be useful to validate LiNbO₃ as a novel neural stimulation platform. These results have been funded by PRIN22 "ASSONE" 20228P4k4A.