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UNIVERSITY OF BUCHAREST
FACULTY OF PHYSICS Guest
2024-11-23 17:55 |
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Conference: Bucharest University Faculty of Physics 2017 Meeting
Section: Biophysics; Medical Physics
Title:
Progress in optogenetics, a promising branch of neurobiophysics
Authors:
Aurel I. POPESCU
Affiliation:
Department of Electricity, Solid Physics and Biophysics, Faculty of Physics,
University of Bucharest, 405 Atomiştilor, Măgurele-Ilfov, ROMANIA
E-mail
prof.aurel.popescu@gmail.com
Keywords:
Optogenetics, opsins, viral vector, cell membranes, targeted cells, neural networks
Abstract:
In the last decades a challenging research field with deep implications in biology, physiology, psychology and, on long term, in medicine had appeared and rapidly evolved. This new promising scientific domain was called optogenetics, because it involves optical techniques, in exploring both in vitro and in vivo behaviour of the cells whose components were genetically modified. The term optogenetics encompasses the high-speed optical methods for light stimulating and controlling certain targeted cells (e.g., neurons, miofibrils) pertaining to a particular tissue. The light selectively excites some sensitive molecules (e.g., microbial opsins) previously targeted to specific cellular subpopulations by the aid of viral vectors. These light sensitive molecules inserted into the cell membranes influence important cellular processes (e.g., the ion transfer across the membrane). Thus, in this way, one can control and manipulate, by light, a desired cellular process. An extensive review on optogenetics in neural systems was published by the group of Deisseroth (Yizar et al., 2011). Another group is extending the field of optogenetics by using the electromagnetic wave transcranial stimulation in order to trigger the activity of the desired specific neurons (Grossman et al., 2017). Application of optogenetics seems to be unlimited: from the knowledge on complex neuronal networks operation to miofibril contraction or to locomotion of unicellular organisms (Popescu, 2016).
References:
Yizhar O., Fenno L. E., Davidson T. J., Mogri M., Deisseroth, K., Optogenetics in neural systems, Neuron, 71, 9-34, 2011
Grossman N., Bono D.,…, Boyden E. S., Noninvasive Deep Brain Stimulation via Temporally Interfering Electric Fields, Cell, 169, 1029-1041, 2017
Popescu A. I., Optogenetics (172-179). In: Biophysics. Current Status and Future Trends. The Publishing House of the Romanian Academy, 2016
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