New microscope shows potential to control living brain activity

A new microscope with the ability to directly control brain activity in living animals has shown potential to revolutionise current neuroscience techniques.

Led by the University of California, Berkeley, a research team has developed a microscope that points into the brain of a live mouse, zooming in on a few thousand cells and using advanced lasers to manipulate electrical signals between individual neurons.

This allows neural activity in the brains of live animals to be observed and controlled at the scale of a single cell with millisecond precision, a technique that could lead to new insights about healthy brain functioning and neurological disorders.

Preliminary tests of the instrument have involved mapping the effects of small perturbations, such as moving a whisker, and then creating holograms that induce the neurons to fire in the same or similar patterns.

Dr Hillel Adesnik, assistant professor of neurobiology at the University of California, Berkeley, said: "We're adapting holographic display technology, optogenetics and sensory biology and behavior into one complete system that allows an all-optical approach to image and manipulate the nervous system."

The most immediate applications for the microscope would be in basic research, but the core technology could potentially be adapted for therapeutic use.