Optogenetics News and Research

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Internet-controlled brain implant enables remote neural stimulation and drug delivery

A researcher in Chicago remotely controls a miniaturized brain implant in Daejeon, Korea - over the internet. Korean researchers have developed a wireless device that can deliver drugs and light to precisely modulate targeted neurons from anywhere in the world.

27 Aug 2026

Loneliness can reprogram the brain to increase alcohol use

Loneliness can reprogram the brain in ways that push alcohol consumption, reports a new preclinical study led by Northwestern University and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies.

25 Aug 2026

Neuroscientists study the brain circuits mediating experience-dependent decision-making in mice

A brain must constantly cope with the highly variable, fast-paced nature of the world when trying to judge what's going on around it.

14 Aug 2026

Miniature microscope tracks and activates single brain cells during movement

Researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz and the University of Colorado Boulder have developed a miniature microscope that allows scientists to observe and activate individual brain cells during natural movement, an advance that could accelerate research into how the brain controls behavior while deepening understanding of neurological diseases.

11 Aug 2026

Study uncovers brain mechanism that drives sustained motivation

What enables us to sustain effort toward goals, even when the task becomes increasingly difficult? A recent study by researchers at Nagoya University in Japan revealed the underlying brain mechanism, showing that orexin neurons play a crucial role in driving and regulating motivated behavior.

3 Aug 2026

New research explains how embryos establish germline cell boundaries

Every embryo of an organism that reproduces sexually faces an early and consequential decision: which of its cell lineages will make up the mortal body, and which will become the germline, the lineage that eventually makes eggs or sperm and carries genetic information to the next generation.

30 Jul 2026

New photoswitchable drugs restore light perception in blind animals

Blinding diseases caused by the degeneration of photoreceptors, such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and retinitis pigmentosa (RP), affect 200 million people worldwide and represent the leading causes of visual impairment and blindness.

15 Jul 2026

Brain histamine neurons control moment-to-moment memory accessibility

The same memory can feel vivid and accessible one moment, yet stubbornly out of reach the next - even when the memory itself remains intact.

11 Jun 2026

New ultrasound pacemaker design promises minimal recovery time for cardiac patients

MIT engineers have developed a noninvasive pacemaker that stimulates the heart using ultrasound. The design could one day provide a surgery-free alternative to traditional cardiac implants.

2 Jun 2026

New brain probe simultaneously records and controls neuron activity

A new breakthrough technology, co-developed by UCL scientists, that simultaneously records and manipulates neuron activity deep within the brain could transform our understanding of neural circuits and neurological conditions, such as Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia.

1 Jun 2026

Brain immune cells found to regulate anxiety and grooming behaviors

A study led by a University of Louisville School of Medicine pediatrics and child neurology researcher reveals how a specific signaling mechanism in microglia, the brain's immune cell, can regulate anxiety and grooming behaviors. These behaviors are core symptoms of autism and obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders.

14 May 2026

Serotonin may worsen tinnitus symptoms, mice study finds

The same neurotransmitter commonly leveraged to relieve symptoms of depression and anxiety also may exacerbate a vexing condition known as tinnitus, according to new research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

20 Apr 2026

Brain pathways combine memory and reward to guide behavior

New research from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) reveals how two different parts of the brain's memory center team up in a key reward region to help mice-and likely humans-combine memories of places and contexts with the drive to pursue rewards.

10 Apr 2026

Researchers settle 60-year debate on the fundamental mechanisms of visual perception

A scientific dispute spanning six decades about fundamental mechanisms of visual perception in mammals has now been settled. Researchers at TUM have succeeded in observing the visual information flow from neuron to neuron.

2 Apr 2026

New optogenetic method precisely controls marmoset brain communication pathways

Understanding how the brain works requires more than studying single regions in isolation. The cerebral cortex depends on long-distance connections that link specialized areas into coordinated networks.

31 Mar 2026

Key gene mutation disrupts the brain’s ability to update beliefs in schizophrenia patients

One of the symptoms of schizophrenia is difficulty incorporating new information about the world. This can lead patients to struggle with making decisions and, eventually, to lose touch with reality.

18 Mar 2026

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