Feng Zhang, a member of the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT, is designing new molecular tools for manipulating the living brain. As a student, he played a major role in the development of optogenetics, a technology by which the brain’s electrical activity can be controlled with light-sensitive proteins. He is now working to extend this molecular engineering approach to other aspects of brain function such as gene expression, and to develop new approaches to understanding and eventually treating brain diseases.
Author: Julie Pryor
Season’s Greetings from the McGovern Institute
Warmest wishes this holiday season from your friends at the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT.
Video Profile: John Gabrieli
John Gabrieli, a member of the McGovern Institute for Brain Research, uses brain imaging and behavioral tests to understand the organization of memory, thought, and emotion in the human brain. [Stock footage: pond5, Elekta Instrument AB]
Read more about John Gabrieli here.
Video Profile: Guoping Feng
Guoping Feng, an investigator at the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT, studies the development and function of synapses and their disruption in brain disorders. He uses molecular genetics combined with behavioral and electrophysiological methods to study the molecular components of the synapse and to understand how disruptions in these components can lead to diseases like autism and OCD. [“The Synapse Revealed” illustrated by Graham Johnson of grahamj.com for HHMI ©2004.]
Read more about Guoping Feng here.
Video Profile: James DiCarlo
James DiCarlo, an investigator at the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT, examines the complex network of brain regions that allow us to recognize vast numbers of objects rapidly and effortlessly. [Stock footage: pond5, Elekta Instrument AB]
Read more about James DiCarlo here.
Optogenetics: A Light Switch for Neurons
This animation illustrates optogenetics — a radical new technology for controlling brain activity with light. Ed Boyden, the co-inventor of this technology, continues to develop new technologies for controlling brain activity.
Blind Mice, No Longer
In a study published on April 19, 2011 in the journal Molecular Therapy, researchers at the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT and the University of Southern California used optogenetic technology to restore vision in blind mice. This video illustrates how it was done.
Learn more about the study and the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT.
[Images and footage: McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT, Ed Boyden, Alan Horsager, University of Southern California, Eos Neuroscience, and pond5.com]
Video Profile: Ed Boyden
Ed Boyden, a member of the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT, develops new strategies for manipulating brain activity. He uses a wide variety of technologies to find new and more potent ways to alter brain function, for both research and therapeutic purposes. A major goal of his current work is to manipulate individual nerve cells using light – a powerful new technology, called optogenetics, that could open the door to new treatments for brain disorders. [Stock footage and animations: Sputnik Animation, Elekta Instrument AB, pond5, and istockphoto]
Read more about Ed Boyden here.
Video Profile: Emilio Bizzi
Emilio Bizzi examines how the brain translates our general intentions into the detailed commands needed to control muscle movements. One of his key discoveries is that groups of muscles are activated synergistically by circuits of neurons in the spinal cord. He believes that these synergies represent the fundamental building blocks for assembling a repertoire of complex movements. Stock footage courtesy of pond5, istockphoto, Emilio Bizzi, Darin W. Trees DPT, CWS / MÅveo technology, The Chattanooga Group, Jeff Powe
Read more about Emilio Bizzi here.