Optogenetics: Illuminating the Brain

FASEB

Imagine being able to treat and control debilitating neurological disorders with a flash of light! The emerging field of optogenetics represents a promising new approach to the eventual understanding and treatment of a number of devastating neurological and psychiatric disorders. A word first coined in 2006, optogenetics uses light-responsive proteins, genetically introduced into the cells of living organisms, to control the behavior of highly specific cell populations.