The optogenetics method enabling the control of brain cells with light
The discovery showing that light-sensitive proteins can turn cells on and off allows nerve cells to be managed with light within milliseconds.
Research by scientists on light-sensitive proteins has revealed that cells can be turned on and off like a switch. Based on this mechanism, the optogenetics method enables nerve cells to be activated and silenced with the help of light.
Light-sensitive proteins and the optogenetics method
Investigating this feature of single-celled green organisms that turn toward light for photosynthesis, scientists discovered that light-sensitive proteins can turn cells on and off almost like a switch. Thanks to optogenetics, developed by adapting this mechanism to nerve cells, specific neurons have become able to be activated and silenced with light within milliseconds. This groundbreaking method won Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann, and Georg Nagel the Nobel Prize. Additionally, achieving partial recovery in the vision of some patients by making the nerve cells in their eyes light-sensitive using the optogenetics method stood out among notable examples.
Developments illuminating the mysterious networks of the brain
Atlas University Hospital Neurology Specialist Asst. Prof. Dr. Meltem Can İke stated that the Nobel Prize not only rewards an important discovery made in the past, but also sheds light on the direction neurology will follow in the future. Stating that humanity has been trying to solve the dark secrets of the brain for centuries, İke emphasized that with this discovery, real light has begun to be shed on these secrets. She noted that while broader brain regions used to be examined previously, it is now known that even within the same region, there are groups of cells with different functions.
Optogenetics research in neurological diseases
The optogenetics method is actively used in neurology to understand the mechanisms of many diseases. How the neural circuits regulating movement are disrupted in Parkinson's disease, and which cellular networks initiate and terminate seizures in epilepsy, are investigated using this method. Furthermore, how memory circuits are affected in Alzheimer's disease and how the brain networks regulating mood work in conditions such as depression and anxiety are also being researched thanks to optogenetics.