Abstract
Optogenetics is one of the most powerful tools in neuroscience, allowing for selective control of specific neuronal populations in the brain of experimental animals, including mammals. We report, for the first time, the application of optogenetic tools to human brain tissue providing a proof-of-concept for the use of optogenetics in neuromodulation of human cortical and hippocampal neurons as a possible tool to explore network mechanisms and develop future therapeutic strategies.
Highlights
Optogenetic tools are used in an increasing number of studies and have successfully resolved many unknown details related to the role of different populations of neurons in mechanisms governing normal brain function, such as learning and memory[1,2], circadian rhythms[3,4,5,6] and visuospatial discrimination[7]
Until now, it still remained unclear whether an optogenetic approach would be feasible in human brain tissue as an important step towards developing alternative treatment strategies for severe neurological diseases
We demonstrate that neurons in brain tissue derived from adult human temporal lobe neocortex or hippocampus resected because of medically intractable epilepsy, are capable of expressing ChR2, one of the main excitatory opsins widely used for optogenetic studies in animals
Summary
Optogenetic tools are used in an increasing number of studies and have successfully resolved many unknown details related to the role of different populations of neurons in mechanisms governing normal brain function, such as learning and memory[1,2], circadian rhythms[3,4,5,6] and visuospatial discrimination[7]. We demonstrate that neurons in brain tissue derived from adult human temporal lobe neocortex or hippocampus resected because of medically intractable epilepsy, are capable of expressing ChR2, one of the main excitatory opsins widely used for optogenetic studies in animals.
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