The Roles of Optogenetics and Technology in Neurobiology: A Review

Abstract

Optogenetic is a technique that combines optics and genetics to control specific neurons. This technique usually uses adenoviruses that encode photosensitive protein. The adenovirus may concentrate in a specific neural region. By shining light on the target nerve region, the photosensitive protein encoded by the adenovirus is controlled. Photosensitive proteins controlled by light can selectively allow ions inside and outside the cell membrane to pass through, resulting in inhibition or activation effects. Due to the high precision and minimally invasive, optogenetics has achieved good results in many fields, especially in the field of neuron functions and neural circuits. Significant advances have also been made in the study of many clinical diseases. This review focuses on the research of optogenetics in the field of neurobiology. These include how to use optogenetics to control nerve cells, study neural circuits, and treat diseases by changing the state of neurons. We hoped that this review will give a comprehensive understanding of the progress of optogenetics in the field of neurobiology.

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Effects of Recombinant Human Epidermal Growth Factor Eye Drops Combined with Phacoemulsification on Short- and Long-Term Visual Acuity Recovery and Related Dry Eye Complications in Patients with Senile Cataract

“…Recombinant human epidermal growth factor (RhEGF) is a kind of cell growth factor composed of many kinds of amino acids, and RhEGF eye drops can effectively promote cell division and receptor binding to a certain extent, activate cells, cause cell cascade reaction, increase protein, RNA, and DNA synthesis, accelerate cell metabolism, promote the proliferation of corneal epidermal cells, and accelerate the proliferation and differentiation of corneal epithelial stem cells [ 6 ]. In addition, it can stimulate the proliferation of fibrous cells and corneal stroma and enhance the arrangement of collagen lamella [ 6 , 7 ]. Optogenetics is a technique that combines optics and genetics to control specific neurons, which is widely applied in the peripheral nervous system, such as vision study [ 7 ].…”

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