Optogenetics News and Research

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New mice study identifies trick to enhance memories

Imagine if playing a new video game or riding a rollercoaster could help you prepare for an exam or remember other critical information.

7 Sep 2016

Research reveals new insights into happy hormone, dopamine

Dopamine is a so-called messenger substance or neurotransmitter that conveys signals between neurons.

1 Sep 2016

Basic cell biology research into neurodegeneration may fuel understanding of neurodegenerative diseases

Clinical trials and translational medicine have certainly given people hope and rapid pathways to cures for some of mankind's most troublesome diseases, but now is not the time to overlook the power of basic research, says UC Santa Barbara neuroscientist Kenneth S. Kosik.

27 Aug 2016

Scientists activate neurons in the mouse brain by injecting virus containing light-sensitive proteins

Neurons that fire together really do wire together, says a new study in Science, suggesting that the three-pound computer in our heads may be more malleable than we think.

11 Aug 2016

MIT scientists design new microfluidic device that mimics neuromuscular junction

MIT engineers have developed a microfluidic device that replicates the neuromuscular junction -- the vital connection where nerve meets muscle.

4 Aug 2016

Scientists demonstrate synapses between specific neuron types form clusters

The cerebral cortex resembles a vast switchboard. Countless lines carrying information about the environment, for example from the sensory organs, converge in the cerebral cortex.

21 Jul 2016

Neuroscientists identify two distinct populations of dopamine neurons involved in movement, reward

Two Northwestern University neuroscientists have identified the neurochemical signal likely missing in Parkinson's disease by being the first to discover two distinctly different kinds of neurons that deliver dopamine to an important brain region responsible for both movement and learning/reward behavior.

12 Jul 2016

New optogenetic manipulation technique could possibly reduce migraine headaches

Despite decades of research, migraines are often not well controlled with medication. For those prone to this type of debilitating headache, it sometimes seems nothing can stop the pain and the sensitivity to light. But what if light itself was key to their relief?

23 Jun 2016

Scientists use optogenetics technique to increase memory in mice brain

Raül Andero Galí, one of the heads of the "Neurobiology of Stress and Addiction" research group at the Institut de Neurociències of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and researcher at Harvard University, published an article in which, for the first time in Spain, optogenetics was used to increase memory.

2 Jun 2016

Suppression of ventral pallidum neurons could be key to control binge behavior

Rats that responded to cues for sugar with the speed and excitement of binge-eaters were less motivated for the treat when certain neurons were suppressed, researchers discovered.

1 Jun 2016

Smell or taste of food can shorten lifespan by affecting sensory neurons

Animals can perceive changes in many environmental factors such as temperature and the taste or smell of foods. This is achieved by specialized nerve cells called sensory neurons. Interestingly, sensory neurons have been known to control the rate of aging in various animals, including the tiny free living roundworm C. elegans.

27 May 2016

Study reveals brain mechanism involved in switching between habitual behavior and decision-making

Not all habits are bad. Some are even necessary. It's a good thing, for example, that we can find our way home on "autopilot" or wash our hands without having to ponder every step. But inability to switch from acting habitually to acting in a deliberate way can underlie addiction and obsessive compulsive disorders.

27 May 2016

Fast, new way to rule out potentially dangerous drugs using optogenetics

A team of researchers at the George Washington University has developed a faster method to predict whether potential new drugs will cause heart arrhythmias using optogenetics, a technique that uses light to control cells.

11 May 2016

Light-sensitive serotonin receptors may help study causes of anxiety, depression

Anxiety and depression are two of the most frequently occurring mental disorders worldwide. Light-activated nerve cells may indicate how they are formed.

26 Apr 2016

Caltech researchers map out pathways of neurons responsible for Parkinson's motor impairments

Because billions of neurons are packed into our brain, the neuronal circuits that are responsible for controlling our behaviors are by necessity highly intermingled. This tangled web makes it complicated for scientists to determine exactly which circuits do what. Now, using two laboratory techniques pioneered in part at Caltech, Caltech researchers have mapped out the pathways of a set of neurons responsible for the kinds of motor impairments--such as difficulty walking--found in patients with Parkinson's disease.

21 Apr 2016

Non-invasive optogenetic therapy can help treat chronic pain

The potential of light as a non-invasive, highly-focused alternative to pain medication was made more apparent thanks to research conducted by scientists at the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital of McGill University and the McGill University Health Centre.

21 Apr 2016

UNC scientists develop new optogenetic tool to study function of different proteins

Scientists at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine have developed a way to embed light-responsive switches into proteins so that researchers can use lasers to manipulate protein movement and activity within living cells and animals.

19 Apr 2016

Prior Scientific collaborates with Neurotar to produce in vivo microscopic imaging solution for neuroscientists

Prior Scientific reports that its collaboration with Neurotar has produced a seamlessly integrated solution for in vivo microscopic imaging in the brain of awake and moving rodents. The solution is based upon Prior’s ultra-stable and easily adjustable Z-Deck platform.

From Prior Scientific Instruments Ltd. 5 Apr 2016

New optogenetic technology could turn on immune cells to attack melanoma tumors

A new optogenetic technology developed at UMass Medical School, called optogenetic immunomodulation, is capable of turning on immune cells to attack melanoma tumors in mice. Using near-infrared light, UMMS researchers have shown they can selectively activate an immune response by controlling the flow of calcium ions into the cell. This breakthrough could lead to less invasive, and more controlled and selective, immunotherapies for cancer treatment.

17 Feb 2016

Study could open door for new treatment targets to help Parkinson's disease patients walk more easily

Two secrets of one of the brain's most enigmatic regions have finally been revealed. In a pair of new studies, scientists from the Gladstone Institutes have discovered a specific neural circuit that controls walking, and they found that input to this circuit is disrupted in Parkinson's disease.

29 Jan 2016