Optogenetics News and Research

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Advanced 3D brain models created to study memory and perception

The hippocampus is one of the most fascinating brain regions. Associated with the formation of memories, it also helps us to navigate through the world without getting lost.

22 Nov 2024

Anxiety and negative emotions reduced by brain circuit that consciously slows breathing

Findings on the dACC→PnC circuit show how breathing patterns influence anxiety, paving the way for new therapeutic approaches to emotional regulation.

22 Nov 2024

Scientists discover brain circuit for voluntary breathing control

Deep breath in, slow breath out… Isn't it odd that we can self-soothe by slowing down our breathing?

20 Nov 2024

Pulses of light show promise in controlling seizures

In what could one day become a new treatment for epilepsy, researchers at UC San Francisco, UC Santa Cruz and UC Berkeley have used pulses of light to prevent seizure-like activity in neurons.

15 Nov 2024

Psychedelics may offer anxiety relief through specific brain circuits

New research suggests that it could be possible to separate treatment from hallucinations when developing new drugs based on psychedelics.

15 Nov 2024

Review highlights advances in flexible optoelectronics for cardiac healthcare

A review paper by scientists at Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences summarized the progress of biointegrated flexible and stretchable optoelectronics for wearable and implantable cardiac healthcare.

25 Oct 2024

Researchers unlock potential of light-controlled cellular activities

Researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI have succeeded in elucidating the structure of specific photoreceptors.

25 Oct 2024

Breakthrough research reveals neural basis of eating behavior

Speaking, singing, coughing, laughing, yelling, yawning, chewing - we use our jaws for many purposes. Each action requires a complex coordination of muscles whose activity is managed by neurons in the brain.

23 Oct 2024

New magnetogenetics technology holds promise as a powerful tool for studying the brain

A new technology enables the control of specific brain circuits non-invasively with magnetic fields, according to a preclinical study from researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine, The Rockefeller University and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

10 Oct 2024

New method harnesses light to activate neurons in the brain

University of Rochester researchers have demonstrated a noninvasive method using BL-OG, or bioluminescent optogenetics, that harnesses light to activate neurons in the brain.

3 Oct 2024

New treatment strategy targets somatostatin to prevent blood sugar drops in type 1 diabetes

Inhibiting the hormone somatostatin may be a new treatment strategy to prevent dangerous blood glucose drops in type 1 diabetes.

30 Sep 2024

Unraveling psychiatric disorders with cutting-edge epigenetic tools

The "Innovators & Ideas: Rising Star" section of Genomic Psychiatry features an illuminating "Genomic Press Interview" with Dr. Pierre-Eric Lutz, a rising star in the field of neuro-epigenetics.

5 Sep 2024

Neuroscientists decode the brain’s response to unexpected sensory inputs

Researchers have discovered how two brain areas, neocortex and thalamus, work together to detect discrepancies between what animals expect from their environment and actual events.

28 Aug 2024

New optical neural chip technology reveals unexpected dopamine dynamics

DGIST (President Lee Kunwoo) Department of Brain Sciences Professor Lee Kwang and his team have discovered a new correlation between neural signaling in the brain and dopamine signaling in the striatum.

2 Aug 2024

Neuroscientists discover a key piece of the placebo effect puzzle

The placebo effect is very real. This we've known for decades, as seen in real-life observations and the best double-blinded randomized clinical trials researchers have devised for many diseases and conditions, especially pain.

24 Jul 2024

Researchers find a special group of "first responder" cells crucial for triggering blood sugar response

How does our body control blood sugar so precisely? An international research team led by scientists from the Paul Langerhans Institute Dresden (PLID) of the German Center for Diabetes Research brought us a step closer to the answer.

17 Jul 2024

Decoding cerebellar neural patterns in movement disorders

The cerebellum is a region of the brain that helps us refine our movements and learn new motor skills.

3 Jul 2024

New light-activated method targets cancer and inflammatory cells with precision

A new method of precisely targeting troublesome cells for death using light could unlock new understanding of and treatments for cancer and inflammatory diseases, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign researchers report.

1 Jul 2024

Study identifies key neurons controlling threat response and escape in mice

Neuroscientists have discovered how the brain bidirectionally controls sensitivity to threats to initiate and complete escape behaviour in mice. These findings could help unlock new directions for discovering therapies for anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

27 Jun 2024