Researchers at the University of Rochester have demonstrated a non-invasive method using BL-OG, or bioluminescent optogenetics, which harnesses light to activate neurons in the brain. The ability to regulate brain activation could transform invasive procedures such as deep brain stimulation that are used to treat Parkinson’s disease and other neurological conditions.
The advantage of this new technique is that it can create brain activation without the use of a device implanted in the brain to deliver physical light, according to Manuel Gómez-Ramírez, assistant professor of brain and cognitive sciences at the University’s Del Monte Institute. for Neuroscience, and the lead author of the study, which appears in the journal NeuroImage.
“BL-OG is an ideal method to non-invasively separate the neural circuits of the brain,” says Emily Murphy, first author of the study and director of the Haptics Lab, led by Gómez-Ramírez. “There is still much to learn about the structure and function of different brain areas and types of neuronal cells that will help us understand how healthy brains function.”
How to turn on a light without a switch
To turn the light on in the brain, researchers need a few tools. The first is optogenetics, an established research technique that uses light to activate or deactivate cells in the brain. The next tool is bioluminescence, the same chemical reaction that makes a firefly glow, which provides the light that optogenetics needs to work.
The combination of these tools creates the material needed for BL-OG. But to work, BL-OG still needs something to “turn on” the light. The organic substance luciferin, when combined with bioluminescence, creates light that activates optogenetics and modulates cellular response in the brain without the need for incision. Previous work by Gómez-Ramírez has shown that the chemical luciferin is harmless to the body.
Researchers at the Haptics Lab tested this combination. They put BL-OG in a predetermined brain region in mice. They then injected luciferin through a vein in the animal’s tail to activate specific cells in the brain. They found that the effects of BL-OG occur rapidly in the brain, but that these effects could be controlled by increasing the dose of luciferin in the animal.
‘Tuned’ bioluminescent optogenetics
“The advantage of this technique is that we can create brain activation without a wire. There is less risk of infection and other things going wrong because it is a non-invasive method,” says Gómez-Ramírez. “If we want to standardize this technique in the laboratory, and potentially in the clinic, it is essential to map all the important parameters related to its use. These latest findings allow us to now work to adjust the desired effects of BL-OG based on the needs and requirements.”
The researchers were also able to track the neuromodulation effects of BL-OG through bioluminescent activity, another potential feature of this method that could provide insight into how the brain works.
The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation supported this research.