Optogenetic Technology and Its In Vivo Applications

The field of neuroscience has witnessed the emergence of a novel methodological approach that allows for the optical control of neuronal activity. This technology, recently dubbed “optogenetics,” combines optical and genetic tools in order to establish temporally and spatially precise control of activation and inhibition of specific neuronal cell types within the brain. So far, most of these studies have been carried out in genetically tractable organisms such as flies, worms, and mice, but the technology is applicable to other organisms such as rats and even nonhuman primates (Deisseroth, 2011). Recently, articles on optogenetics have appeared in the popular-science magazine Scientific American (Deisseroth, 2010) and the science section of the New York Times (Schoonover and Rabinowitz, 2011). This is due not only to the novelty of the techniques involved, but also to the intriguing and almost science fiction–like power ascribed to optogenetics as empowering scientists to “control the brain with light.” Despite the hyperbole, however, scientists indeed consider optogenetics a powerful and promising technique; Nature Methods declared it the 2010 “Method of the Year” (2011). This brief review describes some of the insights afforded to neuroscience by this novel technology. Particularly, it focuses on its in vivo applications, after providing a concise introduction to the technology.