technique optogenetics has won an abundance of prestigious awards and yet most people, outside the realm of neuroscience, do not know what it is or why it is useful. Optogenetics poses a solution to a difficult challenge within neuroscience research. The complexity of the brain has been a huge pitfall in the field. For several years, scientists have been puzzled as to how to manipulate one type of cell in the brain while simultaneously leaving all of the others unaltered. Optogenetics elegantly
Optogenetics With the advent of this new technology doctors and psychiatrists may have finally reached the light at the end of the tunnel. Well not exactly, but the state of the art new technology, Optogenetics, does offer an innovative new approach to the study of the brain, and, more importantly, the treatment of patients. The use of light had been surmised to be a valuable way to control cells many years prior by Francis Crick (Crick 2024), but no one had been able to pull all the pieces together
Joslyn Babiera Mrs. Klock English 2 Honors, Period 2 8 April 2014 Optogenetics: Optimistic For A Cure When thinking of the word optogenetics, the word optimistic comes to mind, and that is exactly what optogenetics is. This new technology is optimistic to opening new doors to help save lives step by step, find cures, and a way for doctors to find underlying causes of life-threatening diseases. The idea was first brought up by Francis Crick, who also helped discover the double helix in DNA. “Crick’s
nematode worms (Caenorlhabditis elegans) (Blaxter 20100) and non-human primates (Han et al., 2011). With a research tool as powerful as optogenetics, the logical next step is producing it in humans for therapeutic effects on mental illnesses. Chow and Boyden recently published an article with discussion about the obstacles that would have to be overcome to bring optogenetics to clinical trials. The largest issue is the use of viral vectors and the subsequent immune response (Chow & Boyden, 2013). Human
I've always had complicated feelings about mental illnesses. It isn't necessarily something I would think about too much, but that the fact that I was lectured plenty of times on depression, ocd, bipolar disorder etc., but I was never taught on why it occurs. Why does people become such a different person? Most importantly, why does it occur? Mental illness is probably one of the most misunderstood illness, in terms of . At one time it was an illness that no one would dare talk about. It was an illness
inhibits4. The idea is that motor deficits observed in PD are caused by an underactive direct pathway and an overactive indirect pathway. This research examined the classical model by studying the activity of specific basal ganglia structures using optogenetics to control the activity of direct and indirect pathway MSNs. The rationale for this study was to investigate this model in a controlled experimental
2012). The development of optogenetics has provided great insight in fear memory recall, nevertheless, more research into further testing if different types of memories can be recalled through optogenetics. By exploring this possibility, this may help amnesic patients in recalling lost memories. The function of the hippocampus is crucial for LTM consolidation and with recollection and familiarity, however recent research in mice and recent development in optogenetics has enhanced a new understanding
Ride the Tiger: A guild through the Bipolar Brain Information Applied to Practice Compared to other areas of medicine, mental health is decades behind in finding and applying new intervention strategies that work to alleviate and sooth symptoms of mental health disorders. The use of therapy, medication and in extreme cases electroshock therapy has been used since the 1950s to aid patients in recovery. However, there are new advances in technology that are currently being developed to better understand
The Science of Habits as a Function of Success Some of the most pressing questions in today’s society revolve around how to become successful or, more simply, how to avoid failure. To answer these questions, one must understand that behavioral habits are functions of individuals that can lead to either success or failure. Thus, one may define success as achieving a goal, being held in reverence, holding a job, or contributing to society. A person’s habits and the behaviors that stem from those
Analysing The Ethics of Memory Manipulation Studies (Deletion and Implantation) Memory is the glue that binds your identity together. Without memory our lives would be stuck in this moment. We would never be able to learn from our past and make a change in our future. Memory represents who we are and how we learn and navigate the world. From implanting a false memory to deleting fear by interfering with memory processes, scientists are probing into our memories more than ever; using cutting-edge
Applications of electrophysiology Introduction Electrophysiology is the study of electrical properties of tissues and cells. It is said to be the “gold standard”, when investigating neuronal signalling (Massimo Scanziani et Michael Häusser, 2009). Measurements are taken of the voltage change or the electrical current on an extensive variety of scales from a single ion channel protein (e.g. potassium channels) to large organs (e.g. the heart). There are many areas in which electrophysiology can be