Smithsonian Magazine · People & society

Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize for Optogenetics, a Light-Based Brain Research Tool

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded to Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann, and Georg Nagel for their foundational work in optogenetics, a technique that uses light to control and study nerve cells.

Optogenetics allows researchers to precisely turn specific neurons on and off by genetically modifying them with light-sensitive proteins. This enables the investigation of direct connections between neural activity and behaviors, emotions, and memories in live animals.

The technique's development began with Hegemann and Nagel's discovery of channelrhodopsin in algae, a protein that generates an electrical impulse when exposed to blue light. They demonstrated that this protein could make other cells light-sensitive.

Deisseroth independently sought a method to trigger electrical impulses in specific neurons. Upon learning of Hegemann and Nagel's work, he acquired the gene for channelrhodopsin and successfully made rat neurons in a dish react to blue light, a high-risk but ultimately successful approach.

Further development by Deisseroth's team allowed for the stimulation of these altered brain cells in live animals using optical fibers, even causing whiskers of mice to move. The discovery of channelrhodopsins sensitive to other light colors has expanded the technique's versatility.

Optogenetics has significantly advanced the understanding of brain function and has shed light on conditions like depression, schizophrenia, and Alzheimer's disease. Research is also exploring its potential to restore vision in certain types of blindness.

The Nobel committee's recognition of these scientists highlights the profound impact of optogenetics on neuroscience, a development long anticipated by many in the field.

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