Definitions:
- Optogenetics: A combination of optical and genetic techniques to probe neural circuits and brain cells with, or a research procedure that inserts opsin genes into brain cells and uses flashing light to stimulate responses in specific neurons
- Neuroscience: The scientific study of the nervous system
Summary:
Because of our limited insight into the causes of psychiatric diseases, we cannot search for cures easily. The mammalian brain is very complex, and therefore it is difficult to really grasp what the brain is doing: “It is an intricate system in which tens of billions of intertwined neurons--with multitudinous distinct characteristics and wiring patterns--exchange precisely timed, millisecond-scale electrical signals and a rich diversity of biochemical messengers.” Optogenetics allows researchers to probe the brain and observe how the nervous system works in great detail. In 1979, Nobel laureate Francis Crick suggested that the major challenge facing neuroscience was the need to control one type of cell in the brain while leaving others unaltered. He speculated that that certain cells could be made to respond to light. Biologists found that in response to light, some microorganisms directed a flow of electric charge across their membranes. These proteins used in the microorganisms, produced by a set of "opsin" genes, help extract energy and information from light in the microbes' environments. So, by inserting opsin genes into the cells of the brain, scientists can now use flashes of light to trigger firing by specific neurons on command. This new technology allows researchers to conduct extremely precise, specific-cell-type targeted experiments in the brains of living animals, which other methods do not allow. And although optogenetics is relatively new, it is already yielding useful insights into neuroscience involving some psychiatric conditions.
Discussion:
- I think that the brain is incredibly complex, and therefore, it’s amazing that we can do precise experiments on it and from that find the causes of psychiatric diseases.
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If this new technology advances even further and proves to be effective, then we can learn so much more about our nervous systems and how we process our thoughts so fast.
How exactly do they use this technology on humans if they are alive? Does it involve getting inside the body or just manipulating it from the outside?
How long will it take to find more about the nervous system in order to speed up the process of finding cures for psychological diseases such as Alzheimer’s and schizophrenia.
Deisseroth, Karl. "Controlling the Brain with Light." EBSCO Host. ESBCO, Nov.
2010. Web. 18 Nov. 2010.
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nNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=sch&AN=54477955>.
Madhu-
ReplyDeleteInteresting article choice. To think that we may be able to actually perform a controlled experiment in spite of the brain's complex configuration is intriguing. I have always found psychiatric diseases fascinating, such as psychopaths. If we could find the root cause of mental disorders, we would be able to better understand the "affected." However, I would like to know how scientists came to the conclusion they could use this optogenics with the brain. I was not exactly clear on how they came to that conclusion. I hope they succeed in this endeavor, as this may be the cure to many unfortunate diseases.