Scientists Found a New Way to Control the Brain With LightNo Surgery Required – Singularity Hub
Posted: October 18, 2020 at 4:51 am
If I had to place money on a neurotech that will win the Nobel Prize, its optogenetics.
The technology uses light of different frequencies to control the brain. Its a brilliant mind-meld of basic neurobiology and engineering that hijacks the mechanism behind how neurons naturally activateor are silencedin the brain.
Thanks to optogenetics, in just ten years weve been able to artificially incept memories in mice, decipher brain signals that lead to pain, untangle the neural code for addiction, reverse depression, restore rudimentary sight in blinded mice, and overwrite terrible memories with happy ones. Optogenetics is akin to a universal programming language for the brain.
But its got two serious downfalls: it requires gene therapy, and it needs brain surgery to implant optical fibers into the brain.
This week, the original mind behind optogenetics is back with an update that cuts the cord. Dr. Karl Deisseroths team at Stanford University, in collaboration with the University of Minnesota, unveiled an upgraded version of optogenetics that controls behavior without the need for surgery. Rather, the system shines light through the skulls of mice, and it penetrates deep into the brain. With light pulses, the team was able to change how likely a mouse was to have seizures, or reprogram its brain so it preferred social company.
To be clear: were far off from scientists controlling your brain with flashlights. The key to optogenetics is genetic engineeringwithout it, neurons (including yours) dont naturally respond to light.
However, looking ahead, the study is a sure-footed step towards transforming a powerful research technology into a clinical therapy that could potentially help people with neurological problems, such as depression or epilepsy. We are still far from that visionbut the study suggests its science fiction potentially within reach.
To understand optogenetics, we need to dig a little deeper into how brains work.
Essentially, neurons operate on electricity with an additional dash of chemistry. A brain cell is like a living storage container with doorscalled ion channelsthat separate its internal environment from the outside. When a neuron receives input and that input is sufficiently strong, the cells open their doors. This process generates an electrical current, which then gallops down a neurons output brancha biological highway of sorts. At the terminal, the electrical data transforms into dozens of chemical ships, which float across a gap between neurons to deliver the message to its neighbors. This is how neurons in a network communicate, and how that network in turn produces memories, emotions, and behaviors.
Optogenetics hijacks this process.
Using viruses, scientists can add a gene for opsins, a special family of proteins from algae, into living neurons. Opsins are specialized doors that open under certain frequencies of light pulses, something mammalian brain cells cant do. Adding opsins into mouse neurons (or ours) essentially gives them the superpower to respond to light. In classic optogenetics, scientists implant optical fibers near opsin-dotted neurons to deliver the light stimulation. Computer-programmed light pulses can then target these newly light-sensitive neurons in a particular region of the brain and control their activity like puppets on a string.
It gets cooler. Using genetic engineering, scientists can also fine-tune which populations of neurons get that extra powerfor example, only those that encode a recent memory, or those involved in depression or epilepsy. This makes it possible to play with those neural circuits using light, while the rest of the brain hums along.
This selectivity is partially why optogenetics is so powerful. But its not all ponies and rainbows. As you can imagine, mice dont particularly enjoy being tethered by optical fibers sprouting from their brains. Humans dont either, hence the hiccup in adopting the tool for clinical use. Since its introduction, a main goal for next-generation optogenetics has been to cut the cord.
In the new study, the Deisseroth team started with a main goal: lets ditch the need for surgical implants altogether. Immediately, this presents a tough problem. It means that bioengineered neurons, inside a brain, need to have a sensitive and powerful enough opsin door that responds to lighteven when light pulses are diffused by the skull and brain tissue. Its like a game of telephone where one person yells a message from ten blocks away, through multiple walls and city noise, yet you still have to be able to decipher it and pass it on.
Luckily, the team already had a candidate, one so good its a ChRmine (bad joke cringe). Developed last year, ChRmine stands out in its shockingly fast reaction times to light and its ability to generate a large electrical current in neuronsabout a 100-fold improvement over any of its predecessors. Because its so sensitive, it means that even a spark of light, at its preferred wavelength, can cause it to open its doors and in turn control neural activity. Whats more, ChRmine rapidly shuts down after it opens, meaning that it doesnt overstimulate neurons but rather follows their natural activation trajectory.
As a first test, the team used viruses to add ChRmine to an area deep inside the brainthe ventral tegmental area (VTA), which is critical to how we process reward and addiction, and is also implicated in depression. As of now, the only way to reach the area in a clinical setting is with an implanted electrode. With ChRmine, however, the team found that a light source, placed right outside the mices scalp, was able to reliably spark neural activity in the region.
Randomly activating neurons with light, while impressive, may not be all that useful. The next test is whether its possible to control a mouses behavior using light from outside the brain. Here, the team added ChRmine to dopamine neurons in a mouse, which in this case provides a feeling of pleasure. Compared to their peers, the light-enhanced mice were far more eager to press a lever to deliver light to their scalpsmeaning that the light is stimulating the neurons enough for the mice to feel pleasure and work for it.
As a more complicated test, the team then used light to control a population of brain cells, called serotonergic cells, in the base of the brain, called the brainstem. These cells are known to influence social behaviorthat is, how much an individual enjoys social interaction. It gets slightly disturbing: mice with ChRmine-enhanced cells, specifically in the brainstem, preferred spending time in their test chambers social zone versus their siblings who didnt have ChRmine. In other words, without any open-brain surgery and just a few light beams, the team was able to change a socially ambivalent mouse into a friendship-craving social butterfly.
If youre thinking creepy, youre not alone. The study suggests that with an injection of a virus carrying the ChRmine geneeither through the eye socket or through veinsits potentially possible to control something as integral to a personality as sociability with nothing but light.
To stress my point: this is only possible in mice for now. Our brains are far larger, which means light scattering through the skull and penetrating sufficiently deep becomes far more complicated. And again, our brain cells dont normally respond to light. Youd have to volunteer for what amounts to gene therapywhich comes with its own slew of problemsbefore this could potentially work. So keep those tin-foil hats off; scientists cant yet change an introvert (like me) into an extrovert with lasers.
But for unraveling the inner workings of the brain, its an amazing leap into the future. So far, efforts at cutting the optical cord for optogenetics have come with the knee-capped ability to go deep into the brain, limiting control to only surface brain regions such as the cortex. Other methods overheat sensitive brain tissue and culminate in damage. Yet others act as 1990s DOS systems, with significant delay between a command (activate!) and the neurons response.
This brain-control OS, though not yet perfect, resolves those problems. Unlike Neuralink and other neural implants, the study suggests its possible to control the brain without surgery or implants. All you need is light.
Image Credit: othebo from Pixabay
More here:
Scientists Found a New Way to Control the Brain With LightNo Surgery Required - Singularity Hub
- This Pitt program is leveling up the gene therapy workforce in Pittsburgh - University of Pittsburgh - March 12th, 2024
- Opinion | Banning Gain-of-Function Research Would Do Far More Harm Than Good - Medpage Today - March 12th, 2024
- The Biggest Challenges Facing Broader Adoption of Novel Cell and Gene Therapies - Pharmaceutical Executive - March 12th, 2024
- Research and development areas of focus - Bristol Myers Squibb - March 4th, 2024
- Overcoming the challenges of gene therapy - Drug Discovery News - March 4th, 2024
- Breakthrough Gene Therapy for LHON: Vision Restoration in Focus at Medical Conference - BNN Breaking - March 4th, 2024
- Revolutionizing Healthcare: Global Gene Therapy Market Surges to US$ 3.44 Billion by 2022 As Revealed In Ne... - WhaTech - March 4th, 2024
- Looking to the future of clinical trials: Gene therapy, precision medicine, and the ongoing quest for rare disease solutions - pharmaphorum - March 4th, 2024
- Complement system response to AAV vector gene therapy - EurekAlert - February 23rd, 2024
- 10 gene therapy companies you should know about - Labiotech.eu - February 23rd, 2024
- Fetal surgery expert Tippi MacKenzie shifts to in-utero gene therapy - STAT - February 23rd, 2024
- Rejuvenate Bio Announces Gene Therapy-Mediated Partial Reprogramming Extends Lifespan and Reverses Age ... - Business Wire - February 23rd, 2024
- Combatting HIV using gene therapy - Drug Target Review - February 23rd, 2024
- Expanding the Horizons of Cell and Gene Therapy - RegMedNet - February 23rd, 2024
- Global Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products CDMO Market Analysis Report 2024-2030: : Increasing Investment and ... - Yahoo Finance UK - February 23rd, 2024
- 2023 gene therapy research STAR Grant winners announced - Pacific Biosciences - February 13th, 2024
- Lifetime Cost of DEB Gene Therapy Could Be $15-$22 Million - Medscape - February 13th, 2024
- 5 Things Youll Learn in Frederick Community Colleges New Cell and Gene Therapy Essentials Certificate ... - BioBuzz - February 13th, 2024
- Regenxbios investigational gene therapy shows promise in Hunter syndrome - PMLiVE - February 13th, 2024
- Topical Gene Therapy Effective in Treating Debilitating Eye Condition - InventUM - University of Miami - February 13th, 2024
- Bayer Says First Patient Randomized In Askbio Phase II Gene Therapy Trial - XM - February 13th, 2024
- Top 3 grants in regenerative medicine: January 2024 - RegMedNet - February 13th, 2024
- Realistic Expectations, Limitations With Gene Therapy for Parkinson Disease: Ignacio Mata, PhD - Neurology Live - February 5th, 2024
- Gene-Based Therapy May Slow Development of Life-Threatening Heart Condition - NYU Langone Health - February 5th, 2024
- After Promising Early Efficacy, Eli Lilly Eager to Study Hearing Loss Gene Therapy in More Children - precisionmedicineonline.com - February 5th, 2024
- Gene therapy hailed as medical magic wand for hereditary swelling disorder - The Guardian - February 5th, 2024
- France Approves Gene Therapy Clinical Trial to Treat Hearing Loss in Children - The Hearing Review - February 5th, 2024
- Early Trial Success for Inherited Deafness Gene-Therapy - RegMedNet - February 5th, 2024
- Can gene therapy be the key to restoring hearing loss? - Labiotech.eu - February 5th, 2024
- Jaguar Gene Therapy Announces FDA Clearance of IND to Study JAG201 in a Genetic Form of Autism Spectrum ... - Business Wire - February 5th, 2024
- FDA inspection clears Abeona's gene therapy BLA By Investing.com - Investing.com - February 5th, 2024
- Hearing Restored in Deaf Children in Gene Therapy Clinical Trial - Securities.io - February 5th, 2024
- Experimental gene therapy allows kids with inherited deafness to hear - The Associated Press - January 28th, 2024
- Children with genetic deafness have hearing restored with gene therapy: Study - ABC News - January 28th, 2024
- Positive Phase 1/2 Clinical Trial Data for an Investigational Gene Therapy for Genetic Hearing Loss to be Presented at ... - Investors | Eli Lilly and... - January 28th, 2024
- UChicago Medicine among the first in the country to offer newly approved sickle cell gene therapies - UChicago Medicine - January 28th, 2024
- Gene Therapy Allows an 11-Year-Old Boy to Hear for the First Time - The New York Times - January 28th, 2024
- Gene therapy restores hearing in children with hereditary deafness - EurekAlert - January 28th, 2024
- Experimental gene therapy helps treat kids with inherited hearing loss - CBS News - January 28th, 2024
- Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Performs First in U.S. Gene Therapy Procedure to Treat Genetic Hearing Loss - PR Newswire - January 28th, 2024
- Gene Therapy Brings Hearing to Kids With Congenital Deafness - U.S. News & World Report - January 28th, 2024
- Gene Therapy Restores Hearing in Small Trial for Kids With Hereditary Deafness - Technology Networks - January 28th, 2024
- Cell Therapies on Ice: Seven Trends in Cryopreservation To Enable Cell and Gene Therapy Research - Technology Networks - January 28th, 2024
- Gene Therapy Brings Hearing to Kids With Congenital Deafness - HealthDay - January 28th, 2024
- Gene therapies restore hearing in several kids with inherited deafness - Livescience.com - January 28th, 2024
- 11-Year-Old Boy Hears For First Time Ever Thanks To Gene Therapy Breakthrough - IFLScience - January 28th, 2024
- Innovative Gene Therapy Restores Hearing In Deaf Child, Offering Potential Cure - Study Finds - January 28th, 2024
- Sound of Success, Gene Therapy Breakthrough Grants Hearing to Deaf Children in China-Harvard Study - Hoodline - January 28th, 2024
- Perspectives in FTD Research Webinar: Gene Therapy for FTD -- What Do I Need to Know? | AFTD - AFTD - January 20th, 2024
- UK leads the way in cell and gene therapy - Research Professional News - January 20th, 2024
- Charles River's (CRL) New Launch to Boost Gene Therapy Programs - Yahoo Finance - January 20th, 2024
- UK maintains status as an attractive destination for advanced therapy clinical trials - BioPharma-Reporter.com - January 20th, 2024
- Understanding the impact of AI on the advancement of gene therapy development - pharmaphorum - January 20th, 2024
- Gene therapy TSHA-102 delivered to 1st child in REVEAL trial - Rett Syndrome News - January 20th, 2024
- AAV Vectors in Gene Therapy Market is Predicted to Observe Skyrocketed Growth During the Study Period (2019-2032 ... - PR Newswire - January 20th, 2024
- Family pins hopes on gene therapy - The Recorder and Times - January 20th, 2024
- Arbor, 4DMT partner on new gene therapies in ALS, other diseases - ALS News Today - January 11th, 2024
- The year of gene therapy? FDA's Marks calls for solutions to regulatory, manufacturing challenges - BioWorld Online - January 11th, 2024
- Gene Therapy Approvals Expected to Ramp Up in 2024 Amid Manufacturing, Cost Challenges - BioSpace - January 11th, 2024
- Turning On Gene Therapy with the pA Regulator - RegMedNet - January 11th, 2024
- Revolutionizing Healthcare: Gene Therapy Market Projected to Reach USD 46.5 billion by 2030 at a 22. - PharmiWeb.com - January 11th, 2024
- Regeneron CEO Reveals the Game-Changing Potential of Gene Therapy in Biotech! - BioTecNika - January 11th, 2024
- Bayer's AskBio checks off another early win for gene therapy platform with Parkinson's safety data - FierceBiotech - January 11th, 2024
- Are Rare Brain Diseases the Next Commercial Frontier for Gene Therapy? - MedCity News - January 3rd, 2024
- Novartis, Voyager Ink Up-to-$1.3B Expansion of Neuro Gene Therapy Collaboration - Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News - January 3rd, 2024
- Novel switch turns genes on/off on cue, a promising step toward safer gene therapy - Phys.org - January 3rd, 2024
- Which Therapeutic Areas Experts Think Will Gain Traction In 2024 - Clinical Leader - January 3rd, 2024
- Voyager Therapeutics and Novartis Announce Major Licensing Deal in Gene Therapy Field - Medriva - January 3rd, 2024
- We Are About to Enter the Golden Age of Gene Therapy - Inverse - January 3rd, 2024
- Revolutionizing Gene Therapy: Baylor Researchers Develop RNA-Based Switch for Therapeutic Protein Control - BNN Breaking - January 3rd, 2024
- Casgevy and Lyfgenia: Two Gene Therapies Approved for Sickle Cell Disease - Yale Medicine - December 25th, 2023
- Top story: Family connects with researchers behind Canavan gene therapy - UMass Medical School - December 25th, 2023
- Excision Bio Seeks to Suppress HIV Replication With CRISPR Gene Therapy - AJMC.com Managed Markets Network - December 25th, 2023
- Hemgenix Gene Therapy Shows Long-Term Efficacy, Safety in Hemophilia B Patients - Managed Healthcare Executive - December 25th, 2023
- The missing piece of the puzzle - EUobserver - December 25th, 2023
- Brace yourselves for these trends in clinical research in 2024 - Labiotech.eu - December 25th, 2023
- RegMedNet's 2023 remix: top content of the year - RegMedNet - December 25th, 2023
- BU Researchers Helped Develop the First FDA-Approved Gene Therapies to Treat Sickle Cell Disease - Boston University - December 16th, 2023
- Research discovers that mice possess a natural gene therapy system - Phys.org - December 16th, 2023
- Cell- and gene-therapy hub bound for Lake Success; New York to invest up to $150 million - Newsday - December 16th, 2023