Context
- The 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Peter Hegemann, Karl Deisseroth and Georg Nagel for pioneering optogenetics, which uses light to control specific neurons and study brain functions.
What is Optogenetics?
- Optogenetics combines genetic engineering and light to selectively activate or inhibit specific neurons, helping scientists study their roles in brain functions and behaviour.
Why is Optogenetics Important?
- High Precision: Targets specific neurons with millisecond-level control.
- Circuit Analysis: Reveals the roles of specific neural pathways.
- Causal Links: Connects neural activity with specific behaviours.
- Brain Research: Helps study memory, movement, emotions, attention and sleep.
Scientific Mechanism: From Algae to Neuroscience
- Discovery: Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel studied light-sensitive proteins called channelrhodopsins in green algae.
- Breakthrough (2005): Karl Deisseroth introduced the algal gene into mammalian neurons, making them responsive to blue light.
- Neural Control: Fibre-optic light selectively switches neurons on or off, helping researchers study brain circuits and behaviour in live animals.
Significance & Applications
- Understandings: Establishes direct links between specific neural circuits and behaviour.
- Disease Research: Helps investigate Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, schizophrenia and depression.
- Vision Restoration: Shows potential for treating retinal disorders like retinitis pigmentosa.
- Hearing Restoration: Explores potential approaches to recovering hearing.
| Important CTC from this article for UPSC: Optogenetics |
Q. Consider the following statements regarding 'Optogenetics', which was recently in the news:
1. It is a technique that combines genetic engineering and optical methods to monitor and control the activities of individual neurons in living tissue.
2. The foundational components of this technology were originally discovered by studying light-sensitive proteins in microscopic algae.
3. It relies exclusively on external chemical drugs to activate targeted neural circuits without the use of light.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 1 and 2 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Correct Answer: (b) 1 and 2 only
Statement 1 is Correct: Fuses gene insertion with light delivery to manipulate targeted cells with millisecond precision.
Statement 2 is Correct: Researchers identified channelrhodopsin proteins in green algae that react to light by triggering electrical signals.
Statement 3 is Incorrect: Uses targeted light stimulation (via lasers/LEDs), not chemical drugs, to activate sensitized neural circuits.