OptogeneticsWith the advent of this new technology doctors and psychiatrists may have finally reached the light at the end of the tunnel. Well, not exactly, but the new cutting-edge technology, optogenetics, offers an innovative new approach to studying the brain and, more importantly, treating patients. Many years earlier Francis Crick (Crick 2024) had hypothesized that the use of light was a valid method for controlling cells, but no one had been able to put all the pieces together. Although it is by no means completely certain: there are still uncertainties about the long-term effects, and the level of specificity it offers can only control groups of neurons up to 0.3 (mm^3) rather than individual neurons. Optogenetics still offers advantages over our current pharmaceutical and surgical technologies with its specificity, both temporally and spatially. In light of these facts, doctors should consider optogenetics as a safe and effective way to treat neurological disorders that do not respond to current methods. Optogenetics is a new field of study based “on the integration of optics and genetics to achieve gain or loss of function of well-defined events within specific cells in living tissue.” (Davidson et al. 9) Scientists are now able to genetically modify viruses that express their genes only within specific tissues of the body. Once these viruses enter the cell, specific molecules activate the transcription of cellular receptors called opsins. Opsins are membrane-bound ion pumps or channels sensitive to specific wavelengths of light. They are typically classified into three groups: halorhodopsins are chloride pumps used to hyperpolarize or inhibit the cell membrane; bacteriorhodopsi...... middle of paper ...... ptogenetica but sets parameters on when it can be used. Thus, optogenetics would be a good option for stimulating a neural pathway, but may not be useful for more accurate stimulation like that needed in the visual field. Although current treatments, which include pharmaceuticals and surgical products, work in most cases, there are numerous cases in which they are dangerous or infectious. Some patients do not respond to drug treatments or are unwilling to accept the risk of side effects. For example, fewer than 55% of patients with epilepsy stop having seizures after treatment with antiepileptic drugs (DeGiorgio and Krahl 743), and only 20-40% of patients with depression show significant improvement after one year (DeJongh and Haight 1 ) While an optogenetic treatment would also require surgery which would be less invasive than removing an entire neural population.