Frontiers | And Then There Was Light: Perspectives of Optogenetics for Deep Brain Stimulation and Neuromodulation | Neuroscience
Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) has evolved into a well-accepted ‘add-on’ treatment for patients with severe Parkinson’s disease as well as for other chronic neurological conditions. The focal action of electrical stimulation can yield better responses and it exposes the patient to fewer side effects c..
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnins.2017.00663/full
https://academic.oup.com/scan/article/11/3/387/2375059?login=true
Neuromodulation through magnetism - hmmm....
Neuromodulation of group prejudice and religious belief | Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience | Oxford Academic
Abstract. People cleave to ideological convictions with greater intensity in the aftermath of threat. The posterior medial frontal cortex (pMFC) plays a key rol
https://academic.oup.com/scan/article/11/3/387/2375059?login=true
Lightheadedness?
Near-infrared deep brain stimulation via upconversion nanoparticle–mediated optogenetics | Science
Noninvasive deep brain stimulation is an important goal in neuroscience and neuroengineering. Optogenetics normally requires the use of a blue laser inserted into the brain. Chen et al. used specialized nanoparticles that can upconvert near-infrared light from outside the brain into the local emissi..
https://science.sciencemag.org/content/359/6376/679/tab-figures-dataOne of the biggest challenges of brain research is how to single out the contribution of a specific neuron types to brain functions and brain disorder states in this ultra-complex network [3], [4]. Ten years ago, a technique called optogenetics was developed, which combines lasers, fiber optics, and genes for light-responsive protein channels called microbial opsins from algae and bacteria to control neural activity precisely in specific nerve cells within whole living brains as animals carry out their daily activities [3].
Briefly, a natural light-sensitive ion-transporting membrane protein (e.g., channelrhodopsin (ChRs), chloride-conducting ChRs (ChloCs)) is expressed in neurons of choice. Shining light to the cells will open the ion channels to generate electrical signals to either stimulate or inhibit neuronal activities. Since the first demonstration of this approach in cell cultures, optogenetics has become the method of choice in neuroscience, which has been successfully applied in many animal models including Caenorhabditis elegans, Drosophila melanogaster, zebrafish, mice, and nonhuman primates [3], [4].
For mammalian models, because of the larger brains that strongly scatter and absorb high energy blue and green lights, insertion of invasive optical fibers is required. Although near infrared laser has been shown to allow deep tissue penetration and induce in vivo stimulation, the depth of this focal excitation is restricted to shallow brain areas because of light scattering. In addition, NIR photons have low energy that is not enough to trigger the light-sensitive ion channels. Thus there is missing link that could connect the NIR to optogenetics to develop noninvasive deep brain stimulation [5]
