Effect of optogenetic modification of neural activity in the frontal eye field and the lateral intraparietal area of the macaque monkey. KU Leuven
It has long been the ultimate dream for neuroscientists to take control of specific neurons within a neural circuit. With the advent of optogenetics this was achieved. Optogenetics is a neuromodulation technique that combines genetics and optics to control the activity of individual neurons in freely moving animals. First, neurons are reengineered so that they react to light. Light-sensitive ion-channels (opsins) are expressed in the ...