The Future of Controls in the Brain

Our everyday life involves constant transmission of certain neurons through specific pathways that is able to lead to release of specific neurotransmitters. Once these neurotransmitters are released, we act certain ways and respond to certain things. With the advancement of neuroscience research, a new form of technique known as Optogenetics allows for specific neuro-mechanisms to be carried out in the brain, releasing neurotransmitters in a controlled manner.

            Optogenetics involves the use of light to control certain cells, synapses, and pathways that are light sensitive. With the use of optogenetics, certain activities involving neurons and neuro-pathways are activated and released into the synapse and researchers hope to be able to combat certain diseases, mental illnesses, and psychiatric disorders which could prove to be more useful than certain drugs or medications. Other uses for optogenetics involves control of certain day to day activity.

            In the New York Times article written by Carl E. Shoonover and Abbey Rabinowitz, the idea of optogenetics being used for certain psychiatric illnesses becomes evident through different researchers from different universities. Interviewed by Rabinowitz and Shoonover, Dr. David Anderson who is a biology professor at the California Institute of Technology says that optogenetics for psychiatric disorders is seen to be much more specific and efficient than certain medications. With optogenetics, specific neural circuits, brain regions, and neural pathways can be identified and acted upon whereas with medication, specificity isn’t assured. Rather, regions that control psychiatric illnesses are acted upon but side effects occur as well, causing patients to receive more harm than pleasure. Studied by Dr. Boyden, his research came to the conclusion that the use of optogenetics for epilepsy can provide great benefit. As stated from the article by Boyden, “Light, unlike drugs and electrodes can switch neurons off—or as he put it, “shut an entire circuit down.” And shutting down over excitable circuits is just what you’d want to do an epileptic brain.”

In another New York Times article written by James Gorman, the idea of optogenetics is explained even further by Dr. Karl Deisseroth. In this article, Dr. Deisseroth describes optogenetics as the most revolutionary thing to happen in neuroscience research. He, like Dr. Boyden and Dr. Anderson experiments with the use of optogenetics and psychiatric disorders. He used optogenetics to shine light on a proteins called opsins. By shining light on opsin, Dr. Deisseroth was able to control specific neurons and control specific neural circuit pathways.   The use of optogenetics does not only play a role in medication or psychiatric illness, but can also control locomotion as described by Shoonover and Rabinowitz and Gorman. In several experiments, with the use of optogenetics, scientists alongside Dr. Deisseroth were able to control certain locomotion in rats by targeting certain neural networks. In one study, researchers were able to make worms stop wiggling and also made mice move around in circles continuously. These experiments, beginning from treatment of certain psychiatric illnesses to control of locomotion and neural circuits are able to accurately depict the use of specificity of optogenetics in today’s research.

            During a neuroscience seminar at Loyola University Chicago, Dr. Stephen Steidl gave a presentation about his current research that he was conducting. His research is based on using optogenetics along with conditioned place preference to see how light impacts behavior in mice. In his paper, “Optogenetic excitation in the ventral tegmental area of glutamatergic or cholinergic inputs from the laterodorsal tegmental area drives reward,” Steidl talks about how he has two sets of chambers, a light-paired chamber and a light-unpaired chamber. The light-paired chamber was able to show that with the use of optogenetics, mice had certain neural circuits opened which led to the release of dopamine. More dopamine released in light-paired chambers gave mice the conditioned placed preference of going into that chamber rather than the light-unpaired chamber. With the release of dopamine in light-paired chambers and no release of dopamine in the light-unpaired chambers, Steidl’s research lab was able to further prove how optogenetics is able to give mice conditioned placed preference in terms of light-paired chambers and light-unpaired chambers.

            As shown, optogenetics is becoming a very popular research method. It not only is able to provide medical applications for certain illnesses or psychiatric diseases but is also able to play a role in neural circuit specificity in terms of locomotion as presented by certain researchers as well as releasing certain neurotransmitters as talked about by Dr. Steidl. Optogenetics is a staggering research method of the future, allowing us to be more specific within the brain and leading us to more discoveries about neural networks.

Works Cited

·      Gorman, James. “Brain Control in a Flash of Light.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 21 Apr. 2014, www.nytimes.com/2014/04/22/science/mind-control-in-a-flash-of-light.html.

·      Schoonover , Carl E, and Abby Rabinowitz. “Control Desk for the Neural Switchboard.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 16 May 2011, www.nytimes.com/2011/05/17/science/17optics.html.

·      Steidl, Stephen, et al. “Optogenetic Excitation in the Ventral Tegmental Area Ofglutamatergic or Cholinergic Inputs from the Laterodorsaltegmental Area Drives Reward.” Steidl_et_al-2017-European_Journal_of_Neuroscience.Pdf | Powered By Box, luc.app.box.com/v/neuroseminar/file/210343992731.