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Scarmoge posted an update 7 years, 9 months ago
Some interesting recent Neural Circuit research …
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Selective Manipulation of Neural Circuits
Hong Geun Park & Jason B. Carmel
Published online: 7 March 2016
Copyright by The American Society for Experimental NeuroTherapeutics, Inc. 2016
Abstract: Unraveling the complex network of neural circuits
that form the nervous system demands tools that can
manipulate specific circuits. The recent evolution of genetic
tools to target neural circuits allows an unprecedented
precision in elucidating their function. Here we describe
two general approaches for achieving circuit specificity.
The first uses the genetic identity of a cell, such as a transcription
factor unique to a circuit, to drive expression of a
molecule that can manipulate cell function. The second
uses the spatial connectivity of a circuit to achieve specificity:
one genetic element is introduced at the origin of a
circuit and the other at its termination. When the two genetic
elements combine within a neuron, they can alter its
function. These two general approaches can be combined
to allow manipulation of neurons with a specific genetic
identity by introducing a regulatory gene into the origin or
termination of the circuit. We consider the advantages and
disadvantages of both these general approaches with regard
to specificity and efficacy of the manipulations. We
also review the genetic techniques that allow gain- and
loss-of-function within specific neural circuits. These approaches
introduce light-sensitive channels (optogenetic)
or drug sensitive channels (chemogenetic) into neurons
that form specific circuits. We compare these tools with
others developed for circuit-specific manipulation and describe
the advantages of each. Finally, we discuss how
these tools might be applied for identification of the neural
circuits that mediate behavior and for repair of neural
connections.
Keywords Circuitmanipulation . Circuit specificity . Genetic
tools . Optogenetics . Chemogenetics
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I’m a neuroscience major. We have to take this one credit hour course where we “learn how to read technical papers”. We talked about this sort of technique in class, and the professor rolled her eyes at me when I mentioned my concerns. Of course, I opened myself up to this ugly reflex by bringing up the Rockefeller money behind the Brain initiative unnecessarily, and without doing research to support my claim.
I wondered aloud that if the opti-genetics technique can trigger neuron to fire when targeted with a specific wavelength of light, what if other wavelengths on the EM spectrum could have the same effect? Wavelengths that might, for instance be able to penetrate our skulls.
I brought this question up in my biology course too, and the professor dismissed it saying we only use cells we have already found in nature to use this technique. And that he didn’t know of any animals that had cells which interacted with radio waves for instance. But, an adult woman and fellow student mentioned she thought she had heard of marine life that might have cell types we can mimic which respond to other wavelengths on the EM spectrum.
Did you ever read Michael Crichton’s “Prey”? In that book there are vats of bacteria that build other bacteria. Like a bacteria manned assembly line for nano-bots. Even if the cell types we need don’t exist organically (at least on this planet), I don’t see why there couldn’t have been experiments going on trying to create a cell that DOES react to radio waves similar to how Rhodopsin reacts to light.
Fascinating! I wonder if all our cells are ultimagely programmable at the genetic level.