Optogenetics News and Research

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New optovolution technique uses light to guide protein evolution

Evolution is biology's powerful method of engineering. It works by generating many variants of DNA, RNA, and proteins inside cells and letting nature "select" the organism that performs best.

6 Mar 2026

Neural circuit mechanisms explain how chronic sleep loss disrupts social memory

Social memory—the ability to recognize familiar individuals and distinguish them from strangers—is fundamental to social cognition.

5 Mar 2026

Oxytocin circuits mediate sleep loss-induced social memory deficits

Social memory-the ability to recognize familiar individuals and distinguish them from strangers-is fundamental to social cognition.

23 Feb 2026

Brain neurons after exercise drive long-term endurance gains

When you finish a run, your muscles may feel like they did all the work. But researchers at The Jackson Laboratory (JAX) and the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) have discovered that what happens in your brain after a run may determine whether you gain endurance over time.

19 Feb 2026

AI system controls brain circuits during social behavior

A male fruit fly in a laboratory chamber extends his wings and vibrates them to produce his species' version of a love song.

12 Feb 2026

Needle-thin brain implant enables recording and targeted drug delivery

A new type of brain implant may have implications for both brain research and future treatments of neurological diseases such as epilepsy.

6 Feb 2026

Optogenetic tool helps decipher mechanisms of brain dysfunction in Huntington’s disease

Synaptic plasticity — the brain's ability to modify the connections between neurons to support learning — is one of the neural functions profoundly altered in Huntington's disease, with a direct impact on brain function.

10 Dec 2025

Novel wireless device uses light to send information directly to the brain

In a new leap for neurobiology and bioelectronics, Northwestern University scientists have developed a wireless device that uses light to send information directly to the brain - bypassing the body's natural sensory pathways.

8 Dec 2025

How immune signals activate brain circuits to drive sickness-induced social withdrawal

MIT researchers have discovered how an immune system molecule triggers neurons in a specific brain circuit to shut down social behavior in mice modeling infection.

25 Nov 2025

Brain circuit identified as key to repetitive and compulsive behaviors in mice

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have identified a brain circuit that can drive repetitive and compulsive behaviors in mice, even when natural rewards such as food or social contact are available.

22 Nov 2025

Study uncovers role of mechanical forces in human gastrulation

Only two weeks after fertilization, the first sign of the formation of the 3 axes of the human body (head/tail, ventral/dorsal, and right/left) begins to appear.

22 Nov 2025

Brain regions work together like an hourglass to control movement timing

MPFI Scientists have discovered how two brain areas work together like an hourglass to flexibly control movement timing.

19 Nov 2025

Bruker launches xView Module for Ultima 2Pplus multiphoton microscopes

At the Neuroscience 2025 conference, Bruker Corporation today announced the release of the xView Module for Ultima 2Pplus multiphoton microscopes to significantly extend imaging scale and experiment flexibility for advanced neuroscience research.

From Bruker Nano Surfaces and Metrology 17 Nov 2025

Study reveals how neural excitability and learning potential fluctuate across the day

Our brains do not react in a fixed, mechanical way like electronic circuits. Even if we see the same scene every day on our commute to work, what we feel - and whether it leaves a lasting impression - depends on our internal state at that moment.

11 Nov 2025

PRIME fiber-optic device can manipulate neural activity deep in the brain

Fiber-optic technology revolutionized the telecommunications industry and may soon do the same for brain research.

4 Nov 2025

Systematic analysis reveals psilocybin's impact on obsessive-compulsive behaviors

A systematic review published today in Psychedelics by Mr. James Gattuso and colleagues at the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health synthesizes clinical and preclinical evidence on psilocybin's effects on obsessive-compulsive behaviors, revealing consistent therapeutic potential across human patients and validated animal models.

29 Oct 2025

Optogenetics and artificial intelligence open path to personalized Parkinson’s treatment

Globally recognized figures like Muhammad Ali and Michael J. Fox have long suffered from Parkinson's disease. The disease presents a complex set of motor symptoms, including tremors, rigidity, bradykinesia, and postural instability.

26 Sep 2025

Study reveals how a key spinal circuit shapes the choreography of sex

For decades, it was thought that while the brain orchestrated male sexual behaviour – arousal, courtship, and copulation – the spinal cord merely executed the final act: ejaculation.

23 Sep 2025

New research links postictal symptoms in epilepsy to hidden brain waves

In everyday clinical practice, symptoms are regularly observed after epileptic seizures, known as "post-ictal symptoms", which, in contrast to the usually short duration of seizures, typically last several minutes to hours. Besides symptoms such as impaired speech and language comprehension, a state of disorientation may occur.

19 Sep 2025

Researchers identify seizure-associated depolarization as cause of post-ictal symptoms

People with temporal lobe epilepsy in particular often wander around aimlessly and unconsciously after a seizure. Researchers at the University Hospital Bonn (UKB), the University of Bonn, and the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) have identified a neurobiological mechanism that could be responsible for this so-called post-ictal wandering and potentially other postictal symptoms.

18 Sep 2025