Scientists develop technique to switch off brain cellsRSS Feed

Researchers believe they may have developed a new technique for turning off selected brain cells using light.

Scientists from Stanford University, are confident that the technique, which uses optogenetics technology, could be a useful means of troubleshooting neural circuits associated with depression or even Parkinson's disease, to perhaps pre-empt future brain injury resulting from the conditions.

The findings, due to be published in the April 2nd edition of the journal Cell, indicate that the light instruments could be used to suppress cell activity, with particular wavelengths capable of penetrating much deeper in living tissue.

Scientists are confident that the results, drawn from tests on small animals such as rats, will enable much wider experimentation on larger animals, including primates.

Commenting on the findings, senior author of the paper professor Karl Deisseroth explained: "These advances demonstrate a systematic way to add more instruments to the optogenetic orchestra."

Last month, researchers from Columbia University and the Heart and Blood Institute found that the latest generation of CT scanning technology exposes patients with brain and other injuries to less radiation than standard helical CT scanning.

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