Medical News Today -- Commenting on Edward Boyden’s article, Ben Barres, Head of the Neuronal & Glial Cell Biology Section of Faculty of 1000 and Professor at Stanford University School of Medicine said: “There will probably be a Nobel prize for optogenetics someday as it has revolutionized our attempts to understand how the brain works. This article provides a fascinating insight into the birth of optogenetics and the roles of the major players.” The invention of optogenetics literally sheds light on how our brains work. Published in the May 2011 issue of F1000 Biology Reports, Edward Boyden’s revealing article gives a unique perspective on the birth of optogenetics tools, new resources for analyzing and engineering brain circuits. These ‘tools’ take the form of genetically encoded molecules that, when targeted to specific neurons in the brain, enable their activity to be driven or silenced by light, thus revealing how entire neural circuits operate.
