title: Optical Techniques in Optogenetics.
abstract: Optogenetics is an innovative technique for optical control of cells. This field has exploded over the past decade or so and has given rise to great advances in neuroscience. A variety of applications both from the basic and applied research have emerged, turning the early ideas into a powerful paradigm for cell biology, neuroscience and medical research. This review aims at highlighting the basic concepts that are essential for a comprehensive understanding of optogenetics and some important biological/biomedical applications. Further, emphasis is placed on advancement in optogenetics-associated light-based methods for controlling gene expression, spatially-controlled optogenetic stimulation and detection of cellular activities.
authors.affiliation: Biophysics and Physiology Group, Department of Physics, The University of Texas at Arlington, USA. Tel. 817-272-1177.
authors.forename: Samarendra K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Mohanty
authors.affiliation: School of Optometry and Vision Science, Departments of Physics and Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON Canada. Department of Physics, Unviersity of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA.
authors.forename: Vasudevan
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Lakshminarayananan
keywords: Optogenetics; biomedical optics; biophotonics; biophysics; cell biology; neuroscience; vision science