Optogenetics is advancing into new dimensions
The so-called combined optogenetics genetically manipulated neural cells with a light source for selectively to areas of the brain and off. The method has proven in animal studies to be extremely interesting for neuroscience and could someday lead to new therapies. The problem: So far, the necessary light rays are normally delivered only to specific points in the brain, although the brain activity consists of a complex sequence of activations in different areas.
A novel 3-D chip to the optogenetics therefore lead into the third dimension - send with the possibility of light patterns of nerve cells in the brain to almost anywhere, Technology Review reported in its online edition. "In the coming years there will be many of these devices," says Ilker Ozden, research professor at the Nanophotonics and Neuroengineering Laboratory at Brown University, who are working on similar technologies.
The new device comes from the Synthetic Biology Group at the MIT Media Lab. "The brain is a three-dimensional object," explains Ed Boyden, senior author of the new study. Far more than two optical fibers were used to control parts of the nerve cells. Would be necessary here, but much more control. A single light source is as if you play only one note, says Boyden. "A 3-D chip allows us to control the brain, such as a keyboard."
Still, the chip has not been tested on animals, the researchers are currently to use the device in living mice and to examine the activation patterns. The goal is to increase the amount of information that can be processed one optogenetics system. "There With a 3-D array is a set of possibilities that you could not even think so far," says Boyden.
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