Turning off brain cell activity allows scientists to better study how different brain regions function and interact.
Dr Stanislav Ott and Assoc Prof Adam Claridge-Chang, with other members of the team part of the Neuroscience and Behavioral Disorder Programme.
The research team showed that specific potassium-ion channels can be triggered by light to inhibit brain-cell activity in fish, worms and flies. Potassium ions are critical for cellular processes such as nerve-impulse transmission, muscle contraction, and cellular-fluid balance maintenance. There are currently two common types of light-sensitive proteins that can be thought of as switches: sodium-ion channels, and chloride-ion channels, said Associate Professor Adam Claridge-Chang, the senior author of this study.Sodium-ion channels activate brain activity. But this is not as easily interpretable as removing neuronal activity, said Prof Claridge-Chang, who is also from the Duke-NUS Neuroscience and Behavioural Disorders Programme.
For instance, the new optogenetic tools are being used to investigate the connection between serotonin, mood and food. Serotonin has been linked to depression, and the most commonly used antidepressants target this chemical in the brain.
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