OPTOGENETICS, DRAWING LIGHT ONTO THE PROCESS ITSELF
Ever been so annoyed by someone you couldn’t help but think, where do I find their off switch? Well, optogenetics has finally brought you the much-needed solution. Scientists have developed a way to send blue light to specific neurons, training them to be light-sensitive. Then, the neurons fire off electrical signals, which they use to communicate with each other. When they come into contact with the lights, and by looking at the behavior, scientists can tell what each pathway of the brain is being used for, and cause behavior changes. I.e., the off switch. How, you ask? Since that changes the behavior of the animals in this experiment, they can see what each neural circuit is for. The idea of sending blue light is sourced from algae, which evolved to be light-sensitive. They are programmed to swim towards the surface when blue light is shined onto the eyespot of an algae cell, and a channel opens, sending an electrical signal telling the flagella to flap. Scientists then add that genetic coding into neurons through genetic modification, making neurons light-sensitive too.
Gene editing, and the processes of DNA
To go into the process of gene editing, the strand that gives algae its coding for being light-sensitive is transported into the DNA of the neurons. The main tool for this transfer is enzymes. To be specific,
- The enzyme helicase is used to unzip the double helix strands, and allows for the editing of bases for specific functions, by copying a sequence tasked with that purpose.
- The specific building blocks of DNA are the bases adenine, thymine, cytosine, and guanine (or A, T, C, and G for short).
- A will always pair with T and C with G. Using these combinations, instructions can be given in the DNA that cause the production of proteins.
- This production of proteins is to thank for most processes in our body.
- For example, messenger proteins transmit signals to coordinate biological processes between different cells.
- And with algae’s coding, these proteins will carry out blue light sensitivity as a biological trait.
The uses of optogenetics with linking the mind and brain, and the importance of it in mental health issues.
The important use of optogenetics is figuring out the specific functions of each line in the brain. This can help with illnesses linked between the mind and the brain, such as behavioral issues like anxiety or eating disorders. The light can be used to activate positive parts of our brains. Since medication hasn’t been furthered for a long time in the field of mental illness, this could be a huge step in bettering the quality of life of people suffering from illness. Or cure them entirely. This is exciting because illness of the mind has been an abstract thing for so long, the only possible cures being therapy, or the tampering of hormones. Meaning advancing the link between the mind and brain could change a lot of lives!
The reach from mouse to human
Already there are some issues on the philosophical or ethical side. Clearly, experimentation has not occurred on humans, and the legal aspects are very strict in that sense. To that extent, it is harder to develop research specifically on the human anatomy and behavior. There is the obvious link missing that with rats, communication between lab scientists and test subjects can’t occur. However, I doubt many people would subject their brain, the very organ tasked with giving them their identity, to getting scrambled in order to untie the knotted secret that is the mind?!
Takeaways:
- Optogenetics is made possible by the gene-editing of a trait in algae into neurons.
- Optogenetics is the link between the mind and brain, and could greatly further mental illness cures, and the link between behavioral actions and the brain.
- While there are great strides being made, the link between current research and applying to patients is far away.
