Light-activated neurons deep in the brain control body heat

Schwartz, Gary J.

doi:10.1038/d41586-020-02481-4

NEWS AND VIEWS
02 September 2020

Light-activated neurons deep in the brain control body heat

A light-sensitive receptor protein expressed in neurons deep in the mouse brain has been shown to be stimulated by violet light, and to activate a pathway that reduces heat production in brown fat.

Gary J. Schwartz ⁰

Gary J. Schwartz
1. Gary J. Schwartz is at the Fleischer Institute for Diabetes and Metabolism, and in the Departments of Medicine, of Neuroscience, and of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, New York 10461, USA.
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Light has profound effects on human behaviour and physiology, from synchronizing sleep–wake cycles to inducing daily fluctuations in body temperature and energy metabolism. Our ability to see is mediated by a family of opsin proteins in the retina. When exposed to light, opsins modulate the flow of ions across neuronal membranes, ultimately activating the optic nerves¹. In mammals, an opsin called opsin 5 (OPN5) is expressed in an unusual place — in neurons deep in the brain’s preoptic area² (POA), which has a role in metabolism. Writing in Nature, Zhang et al.³ report a pathway by which OPN5 in the POA regulates heat production in mice. The authors’ findings open up the possibility of modulating metabolism by manipulating environmental light.

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Nature 585, 351-352 (2020)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-020-02481-4

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