Search Here

Engineers at MIT have developed the first light-sensitive molecule that enables neurons to be silenced non-invasively with the help of a light source outside the skull. 

According to researchers, this would allow to do long-term studies without an implanted light source. 

They added that this noninvasive approach could pave the way to using optogenetics in human patients to treat epilepsy and other neurological disorders.

The neurons to be studied must be genetically engineered to produce light-sensitive proteins known as opsins, which are channels or pumps that influence electrical activity by controlling the flow of ions in or out of cells. Researchers then insert a light source, such as an optical fiber, into the brain to control the selected neurons, the press release added.

"This exemplifies how the genomic diversity of the natural world can yield powerful reagents that can be of use in biology and neuroscience," said Ed Boyden, an associate professor of biological engineering and brain and cognitive sciences at MIT, in the press release.

Researchers using this opsin, were able to shut down neuronal activity in the mouse brain with a light source outside the animal's head. Reportedly, the suppression occurred as deep as 3mm in the brain and was as effective as that of existing silencers that rely on other colors of light delivered via conventional invasive illumination, according to the press release. 

The research has been published in the June 29 issue of Nature Neuroscience.