Optogenetics News and Research

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Researchers observe fast and slow molecular pathways that support memory function

A sustained state of vigilance will generate a different type of memory than a momentary startle, and these differences are linked to distinct signaling molecules in the brains of mice.

24 Jan 2020

New spatiomolecular map may advance understanding of the brain's decision-making area

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have come one step closer toward understanding how the part of our brain that is central for decision-making and the development of addiction is organized on a molecular level.

26 Dec 2019

Study provides insight into brain mechanisms underlying compulsive drinking

Compulsive drinking may be due to dysfunction in a specific brain pathway that normally helps keep drinking in check. The results are reported in the journal Biological Psychiatry.

18 Dec 2019

Aarhus University professor receives grant to develop a new form of cell therapy

Associate Professor Menglin Chen has received a major grant from the Carlsberg Foundation to develop a completely new method of regenerating brain and heart cells.

18 Dec 2019

Scientists discover specific neurons that promote reward-like behaviors, alcohol consumption

Scientists have known that a region of the brain called the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA) plays a role in behaviors related to alcohol use and consumption in general. It's been less known which precise populations of brain cells and their projections to other brain regions mediate these behaviors.

12 Dec 2019

Researchers use stem cells to create in-vitro 3D neural tissue model

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have successfully used stem cells to engineer living biohybrid nerve tissue to develop 3D models of neural networks with the hopes of gaining a better understanding of how the brain and these networks work.

11 Dec 2019

Magnetic nano-sized disks could restore function for Lou Gehrig’s disease patients

For decades the renowned English physicist Stephen Hawking lived with a motor neuron disease until his death last year.

5 Dec 2019

Research identifies neural pathway involved in memory consolidation during sleep

A new study could supply the missing link in the story of the brain consolidates floating memories into a permanent structure while we sleep. The study, published in the journal eNeuro, shows how a brain region, appropriately called the nucleus reuniens, ‘goes between’ two other memory-linked structures – the hippocampus and the prefrontal cortex.

6 Nov 2019

New technique uses light to control lifetime of protein inside the cell

Researchers report they have developed a new technique that uses light to control the lifetime of a protein inside the cell. This method will allow scientists to better observe how specific proteins contribute to health, development and disease.

4 Nov 2019

Light sensitive insulin secreting switches to help diabetics in blood sugar control

Researchers from Tufts University devised a novel experiment wherein they engineered beta cells of the pancreas and transplanted these cells onto the pancreas of diabetic mice. This resulted in two to three times insulin production by the diabetic mice that helped them control their blood sugar. These transplanted cells could be controlled using light exposure explained scientists, making this a path breaking study for diabetics.

4 Nov 2019

NUS researchers use glowing nanoparticles to control biological processes

The biological technique of 'optogenetics' uses light to control cells within living tissues that have been genetically modified to be light-sensitive.

29 Oct 2019

Researchers identify neural pathways that underlie hunger-induced changes in taste preferences

Why does everything taste better when we're hungry? According to new findings from the National Institute for Physiological Sciences in Japan, not only does food taste sweeter when our stomachs are rumbling, but bitter food also becomes less difficult to eat--and both effects are moderated by a neural circuit in the hypothalamus.

16 Oct 2019

Harvard University receives $20 million gift to establish new center for autism research

Autism and related disorders-a constellation of neurodevelopmental conditions affecting one in 59 children in the United States alone-;have become one of modern medicine's most confounding mysteries.

11 Oct 2019

Scientists find a link between brain’s emotion circuit and movement

The brain is a powerful organ that controls all the body processes, including movement. In some athletes, however, they usually experience a phenomenon called “choking,” wherein their performance rapidly declines when they’re under a lot of pressure.

11 Sep 2019

Study offers hope for people suffering from chronic pain

When you experience severe pain, like breaking or shattering a bone, the pain isn't just felt at the sight of the injury.

9 Sep 2019

Inhibitory inputs to neurons in the visual cortex are more diverse than previously thought

Neurons are complex, highly connected cells engaged with multiple networks throughout the brain, and they exhibit a wide range of activity.

6 Sep 2019

Discovery of second gene responsible natural short-sleep

Sleep is a crucial part of human health. Piling up a chronic sleep debt by consistently sleeping less than is needed for a fully rested feeling causes a number of illnesses, including heart disease, cancer and autoimmune conditions.

1 Sep 2019

New optical technology heralds exciting potential for mammalian behavioral studies

In an article published in the peer-reviewed, open-access SPIE publication Neurophotonics, "A multi-site microLED optrode array for neural interfacing," researchers present an implantable optrode array capable of exciting below-surface neurons in large mammal brains at two levels, both by structured-light delivery and large-volume illumination.

29 Aug 2019

UC San Francisco scientists identify second 'short sleep' gene after 10-year search

After a decade of searching, the UC San Francisco scientists who identified the only human gene known to promote "natural short sleep" -- lifelong, nightly sleep that lasts just four to six hours yet leaves individuals feeling fully rested -- have discovered a second.

28 Aug 2019

$1.5 million grant from BRAIN Initiative will help develop new tools to study astrocytes

In the brain, cells called astrocytes are at least as abundant as neurons, but are much less understood.

27 Aug 2019