OPTOGENETICS

 Basic
 Problem before Optogenetics come
 History
 Optogenetics
 Example of Optogenetics
 Laser used in Optogenetics
 Advantage And Disadvantage of Optogenetics
 Basic
Central Nervous System:
 Consist brain & spinal cord

 it integrates received

information and coordinate

activity of all part of the
body.
 Human brain contain about

100 billion neurons.

Function of Brain
 Neuron
 Is an electrically excitable cell that transmits
information through electrical and chemical
signals.
 Electrical signal propagate
within a neuron up to the
axon.
 Chemical signal transmit
through synapse.
 axon release chemical
substance called
neurotransmitter.
Types of synapses:
1) Electrical : allows direct transfer of ionic
current from one cell to next
2) Chemical :

it has two type Excitatory synapses And

Inhibitory synapses
Excitatory synapses stimulate
neurotransmitters by open up sodium channel
while Inhibitory synapses deactivate them by
calcium ion channel.
most mammalian synapse are chemical
 Different treatment on psychiatric disease

Deep Brain Stimulation: consist application of

metallic bipolar or quadruple electrodes for
stimulation of neuronal cell.
But part of targeted area
are not under control.
Drugs therapy :
effect is much slower
 History
 1970 : Dr. Francis Crick suggested that “light can be used to
control neurons from outside”.
 Biologists at that time had identified microorganism that
directly regulate the flow of electric charge across cell
membrane in response to visible light . That sensitive protein
called opsins
 1971 : Bacteriorhodopsin
 1977 : Halorhodopsins
 2002 : Channelrhodopsins
 2005 : 1st time light sensitive
ion channel was used to activate
neurons and change the
behavior of living animal and
OPTOGENETICS come.
 Working of optogenetics
 Its begins with green algae
 Green algae use photosynthesis to create energy for
this it has light sensitive part called eyespot which
tells from which direction light is coming so it can
move into better position to gain much energy
 For this purpose green algae has light sensitive
protein called opsin.
 In optogenetics mostly
used opsins are
Channelrhodopsin &
Halorhodopsin
Channelrhodopsin and Halorhodopsin
LASER used in optogenetics