Nicole RustPenultimate day (9/10) of the brain ideas countdown. The topic: some of the most interesting ideas that brain researchers are pursuing right now.
(For days 1-8 & a call to add your own ideas to the list, click here: #BrainIdeasCountdown)
Brain idea 2: Optogenetics.
In brain research, ideas can take on many forms, including new ways to understand and interact with the brain. One of those might sound a bit bizarre, but it works: controlling the excitability of neurons by shining light on them (optogenetics). It requires infecting neurons with a virus that leads them to express a light sensitive microbial protein. Optogenetics is used in animal models to understand brain function. It is also under development to treat clinical conditions in humans such as blindness (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-021-01351-4).
The friendly version:
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/optogenetics-controlling/
The deeper dive:
https://www.nature.com/articles/nn.4091
Partial recovery of visual function in a blind patient after optogenetic therapy - Nature Medicine
Combined intraocular injection of an adeno-associated viral vector, encoding an optogenetic sensor, with light stimulation via engineered goggles enables partial recovery of visual function in a blind patient.
Brian Wandell