How Can Light Change The Way The Brain Is Seen?
A new area of research is booming! Optogenetics is an area of research that allows the brain's neuronal activity to be controlled by light stimulation. This new area of research began when graduate student Ed Boyden was researching how light effected cultured brian cells. With a back ground in electrical engineering he was interested in seeing how light changed the electrical activity of neurons.
Boyden and his colleagues knew that the current electrical stimulation was not the way to go when trying to see the brain as a whole. They set out to find a way to learn more about the brain's electrical activity with out "zappng the brain." In 1999 Francis Crick postulated that some neurons would respond to light and some would be immune to light. Following with this idea, Boyden has set out to identify respective functions of neurons since he can in essence "turn on" some neurons and "turn off" other neurons with light.
From current research it has been found that light has very few negative effects on the brain. This technology is shedding light on how a health brain works and providing insight to what happens when the brian is acting abnormally. This technology could help with the understanding and cure of various brain dysfunctions that are due to the brains electrical circuitry.
For more information please go to the following link:
http://www.nsf.gov/discoveries/disc_summ.jsp?cntn_id=127977&org=NSF
Boyden and his colleagues knew that the current electrical stimulation was not the way to go when trying to see the brain as a whole. They set out to find a way to learn more about the brain's electrical activity with out "zappng the brain." In 1999 Francis Crick postulated that some neurons would respond to light and some would be immune to light. Following with this idea, Boyden has set out to identify respective functions of neurons since he can in essence "turn on" some neurons and "turn off" other neurons with light.
From current research it has been found that light has very few negative effects on the brain. This technology is shedding light on how a health brain works and providing insight to what happens when the brian is acting abnormally. This technology could help with the understanding and cure of various brain dysfunctions that are due to the brains electrical circuitry.
For more information please go to the following link:
http://www.nsf.gov/discoveries/disc_summ.jsp?cntn_id=127977&org=NSF
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