Turning Brain Cells On and Off with Light... 3 Pioneers of 'Optogenetics' Win Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine [Comprehensive]

[Financial News] Three scientists who pioneered 'optogenetics,' which turns brain cells on and off with light, will receive this year's Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
The Nobel Committee of Sweden's Karolinska Institutet announced on the 5th (local time) that Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel had been selected as joint recipients of this year's Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
The Nobel Committee cited 'discoveries concerning light-gated ion channels and optogenetics' as the reason for the selection. The three researchers laid the foundation for optogenetics, which selectively controls the activity of specific neurons with light, and developed it into a key research tool in neuroscience.
Optogenetics combines genetic engineering and optical technology to control specific brain cells or neural circuits in living animals with light. Through genetic engineering, light-sensitive proteins derived from microorganisms, such as ion channels that respond to light, are expressed in specific neurons. Light of a particular wavelength is then applied to activate or inhibit the cells in real time. The field began with basic research into how microorganisms respond to light, and researchers later adapted that principle to neurons, developing it into a tool for precisely controlling circuits in living animals.
Unlike conventional electrical stimulation, this technology can target only specific types of neurons and control them with exceptional temporal precision. This has made it possible not only to observe correlations between neural activity and behavior, but also to directly test the functions of specific circuits. Researchers can now verify causal relationships between neural circuits and their functions by determining whether a particular behavior emerges when certain neurons are activated and whether the behavior changes when that activity is suppressed. This has significantly changed the study of complex brain functions, including memory, emotion, reward and movement. The technology allows researchers to understand the functions of specific brain circuits at the cellular and molecular levels and to test the effects of drugs in development on the brain.
“Optogenetics has developed rapidly and is being used extensively in neuroscience,” said Jun-gi Kim, a professor in the Department of Convergence Medicine at Asan Medical Center. “In particular, it is being used to study the mechanisms underlying various neurological disorders, including Parkinson's disease, epilepsy and sleep disorders, and to validate new therapeutic targets and drug candidates,” he explained. He added, “Going forward, it is expected to be applied even more actively in research aimed at determining how specific brain cells and neural circuits affect brain function and brain diseases.”
Efforts are also underway to expand the technology into treatments. “Research is being conducted to give remaining retinal neurons in patients with retinitis pigmentosa the ability to detect light, and partial recovery of visual function has been reported,” said Ki-hyun Kim, a professor of ophthalmology at The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital. “Going forward, research is expected to continue on developing treatments that can be applied clinically by gaining a more precise understanding of disease-related neural circuits,” he said.
Meanwhile, Professor Karl Deisseroth received the basic medicine award at the 18th Asan Award in Medicine, selected by the Asan Social Welfare Foundation, in March last year. He received US$250,000.
[email protected] Jeong Myeong-jin, Medical Correspondent Reporter