Engineering an ultra-sensitive light-activated ion channel into brain cells allows for the control of neurons in live animals without a brain-implanted light source.

The approach temporarily improved the performance of older adults on memory tasks to be on par with people in their 20s.

New techniques for activating or suppressing neural activity by zapping the skull’s surface allow researchers to target smaller and deeper areas of the brain.

Using interfering high-frequency currents applied to the surface of the mouse skull, scientists can noninvasively target brain regions buried below the cortical surface.