Neuromodulation
Controlling Nerve Cells with Light
Karl Deisseroth is using light stimulation to change the activity of individual cells in the brain. Fiber optics finer than a hair can deliver laser light to specific neurons that have been engineered to respond to just that color of light.
When brain cells lose function or die, the brain stops working as it should. Efforts at repairing such cells have often eluded physicians, but it is now becoming possible to get more precise control over the activity of circuit elements in the brain. Recent advances have provided powerful new ways to reach precisely into brain circuitry and modify their actions. The implications of these advances will reverberate throughout neurological research and clinical practice.
The aim is to work with remaining circuits or override misfiring ones to help ease diseases such as Parkinson’s, epilepsy, or chronic pain. Tiny electrodes can be placed within the brain (a technique called deep-brain stimulation) to override malfunctioning nerve cells or bolster normal ones. Appropriate stimulation may also facilitate the repair of neural circuits.
Most therapeutic neural modulation currently involves either small electric currents or drugs delivered by implanted devices. These devices-- mainly electrodes or mini-pumps-- are already helping patients by improving function and reducing suffering, as well as allowing more precise diagnoses.
Emerging techniques include delivery of nerve growth factors and other therapeutic molecules. Even more exciting and innovative are new possibilities for activating specific brain elements by targeting them with ultrasound, magnetic fields, microwave radiation and other methods.
An integrated team of engineers, neuroscientists, and clinical neurologists, neurosurgeons, and psychiatrists will expand the use of these stimulation methods to treat brain disorders. These efforts will likely help patients whose symptoms are not responsive to medications, but also will give unparalleled opportunities to explore fundamental questions about how neurological diseases affect neural circuits and how those diseases can be treated.
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