3 ms·

Optogenetics is similar, and crazier.

• feet 4y ago
  IMO optogenetics can be a little more difficult to manage depending on the specific circuit you're studying and the recording method. Remember, you need to deliver the light to the actual neuron being manipulated and with in vivo models you're kinda limited. There are some recording probes with light guides built in but again, this method is limited and doesn't work super well for longer term recording projects Personally I like pharmacological manipulation, but I'm probably a bit biased in that regard :)
  • prpl 4y ago
    yeah it seems much less practical, but it is pretty crazy from the standpoint of how it can be controlled - turn off and in by a literal switch. There’s a dystopian black mirror future in here somewhere where people can take be administered viral vectors programmed with unique, proprietary methods of activation to stimulate a response - altering behavior, mood, hormones, etc… probably in a subscription model serviced by Comcast
    • feet 4y ago
      I think that would be an incredibly difficult task to accomplish. Currently these viral methods require a precise injection to a very specific part of the brain depending on what you're trying to modify or study, it's not like you can just give someone a pill that does this stuff. In optogenetics, light needs to be delivered inside the brain or to the neurons a brain slice or culture. That's on top of the fact that many behaviors are highly complex involving numerous circuits. You can already give someone drugs or take a drug yourself to modify behaviors and we get greater specificity with newer generation drugs as we learn more about the affinity of ligands with subunits expressed in various circuits naturally. Modification of behavior and thought processes is already a reality and it is in the field of psychological and behavioral neuropharmacology where we study these methods to help people with mental illnesses and neurological abnormalities