TYPECASTING: Immunohistochemical staining shows selective labeling of Purkinje cells (green) and their axons (red) in the granular layer of the cerebellar cortex. (Scale bar = 200 microns) NEURON, 95:51-62, 2017
Since optogenetics burst onto the scene in the early 2000s, brain researchers have embraced the technique to study functions ranging from sleep and hunger to voluntary movements and sensory input. The vast majority of these studies have been conducted in rodents, and much has been learned, but extrapolating to humans from a species so different from us poses a challenge.
Brain research in nonhuman primates precedes optogenetics by decades. Attempts to understand the links between brain function and behavior have relied on techniques such as inserting an electrode into the brain to activate or interrupt neural signals, and creating lesions to disrupt pathways. But these approaches only reveal whether the altered brain regions are involved in the functions being studied, with little detail about the ...
