Your browser does not support the video tag. Break Sreekanth Chalasani associate professorSalk Institute for Biological Studies The ‘opto’ in optogenetics — the powerful method some autism researchers use to control neurons in mice and other animals — comes from the Greek optós, meaning visible. It’s a nod to the blue light used to switch […]
Easy to read: A genetically engineered virus marks cortical progenitor cells with a genetic barcode (green), which is passed on to their daughter cells (arrows). Tomasz Nowakowski assistant professor, University of California, San Francisco Autism is thought to arise during prenatal development as the brain weaves its web of excitatory and inhibitory neurons, the main […]
Early maturity: Compared to wild-type mouse neurons (left), those in mice with a mutation in the MYT1L gene (right) mature before they can reproduce, which leads to an above-average brain. Courtesy of Jiayang Chen, Mary Lambo, Dora Tabachnick / Washington University St. Louis Mice with a mutated copy of MYT1L, a leading autism candidate gene, […]
Two proteins: Equipping cortical neurons with a calcium sensor (red) and an opsin protein (green) enables researchers to study neural circuits in mice. A newly engineered protein for optogenetic experiments requires less light than traditional techniques to excite or inactivate neurons, thereby reducing thermal damage to brain tissue. The protein, described in eLife in May, […]
Mice lacking the autism-related SHANK3 gene use more neurons to engage in social behavior than control mice, reflecting a more disorganized, less efficient signaling network in the brain, according to a new study. Mutations in SHANK3 occur in 1 to 2 percent of autistic people and can also lead to a related disorder called Phelan-McDermid […]
Tiny device: A new optogenetic device can be implanted completely under the skin of a mouse and controlled wirelessly so that the animals can move freely during the experiments. Courtesy of Yiyuan Yang Two new wireless devices can synchronize the neural activity of multiple mice at the same time, allowing researchers to study how brain-to-brain […]
