[sarpeedo]

Honestly I think this solves a problem most people don't have. Carrying pills is not that annoying.

But if therapies requiring prolonged clinic / hospital visits like chemotherapies or IV infusions could be given out using this technology that might be life changing.

[trutannus]

Sleeping pills are a real kettle of worms. I don't think most people have an issue with carrying pills, but sleeping pills themselves are fraught with issues from addiction to nasty side effects.

[sarpeedo]

I'm not convinced this specific therapy will remove the side effects. It's still administering the same contents of the pills to your body.

[trutannus]

Well, not entirely. Not all the drugs used to treat sleep disorders are mimics of existing biomolecules. Some inhibit or modify the reception of the signaling molecules. This article talks about directly generating the substance itself.

The pills themselves also tend to be somewhat indiscriminate with where they cause the substance release. When you release a substance that does X into the body via the stomach, or even an injection, you end up with a lot more hitting receptor sites scattered across the body. For example, SSRIs often cause nausea since they affect the serotonin receptors in your GI tract. Just having serotonin released inside the brain would totally side-step this.

That said, my point is more about addiction. A large amount of sleeping pills are also common drugs of abuse, and can be highly addictive. A brain chip would not have nearly the same abuse potential.