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Neuroscience

Controlling neural circuits with light

Nature volume 446, pages 617–619 (2007)Cite this article

Two light-sensitive proteins from unicellular organisms have been harnessed to rapidly activate or silence neurons. This optical remote control allows precise, millisecond control of neural circuits.

The prospect of direct brain control has long been a dream of philosophers, science-fiction writers and dictators. Neuroscientists have also indulged in this dream, because observation alone is insufficient to find out how the brain works. Rather, it is necessary to manipulate specific sets of neurons, stimulating or silencing them, to determine their role in brain function. A powerful approach for controlling neural circuits is now described by Zhang and colleagues on page 633 of this issue1.

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Figure 1: Light activation of the membrane proteins ChR2 and NpHR.
Figure 2: Remote control of designer neurons1.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Michael Häusser and Spencer L. Smith are at the Wolfson Institute for Biomedical Research and Department of Physiology, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK. m.hausser@ucl.ac.uk,

    Michael Häusser & Spencer L. Smith

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  1. Michael Häusser
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  2. Spencer L. Smith
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Häusser, M., Smith, S. Controlling neural circuits with light. Nature 446, 617–619 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/446617a

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