title: Optogenetics: Applications in psychiatric research.
abstract: Recently, optogenetic techniques have emerged as a method to optically manipulate molecular and cellular events in target cells both in vitro and in vivo. Optogenetics results from the fruitful combination of optics and genetic engineering, maximizing the advantages of each discipline. These advantages are optical control through the manipulation of wavelength and light intensity on the millisecond timescale, and specific gene expression and gene product trafficking with subcellular precision. This kind of fine-tuning cannot be achieved using traditional methods. Therefore, optogenetic techniques have brought a revolution to neuroscience. In this review, we provide a concise summary of the history and recent advances of optogenetics, focusing in particular on applications for psychiatric research.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Medical Neuroscience, Institute for Molecular and Cellular Regulation, Gunma University, Maebachi, Japan.
authors.forename: Fukutoshi
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Shirai
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Medical Neuroscience, Institute for Molecular and Cellular Regulation, Gunma University, Maebachi, Japan.|PRESTO, Japan Science and Technology Agency, Kawaguchi, Japan.
authors.forename: Akiko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hayashi-Takagi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D009488:Neurosciences / Q000379:methods; D062308:Optogenetics / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends; D011570:Psychiatry / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends
keywords: action potential; circuit-centric therapeutics; neuronal network; opsins; optogenetics