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Christine McLeavey
Neuroscience
Bio-X
Graduate Student Fellowships 2009/2010
Profs. Scott Delp (Bioengineering, Mechanical Engineering) and Karl Deisseroth (Bioengineering, Psychiatry)
Optogenetic technology allows one to control the activity of individual neurons with pulses of light by genetically inserting photo-activated proteins into the desired neuron. A cation channel, Channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2), stimulates the neuron when exposed to blue light, while NpHR, a chloride pump, inactivates the neuron when exposed to yellow light. This technology has been used to study brain circuitry, but it will be the first effort to control peripheral neurons to study the peripheral nervous system. |
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