Document Type
Article
Publication Date
9-17-2013
Abstract
Analysis and control of neural circuitry requires the ability to selectively activate or inhibit neurons. Previous work showed that infrared laser light selectively excited neural activity in endogenous unmyelinated and myelinated axons. However, inhibition of neuronal firing with infrared light was only observed in limited cases, is not well understood and was not precisely controlled. Using an experimentally tractable unmyelinated preparation for detailed investigation and a myelinated preparation for validation, we report that it is possible to selectively and transiently inhibit electrically- initiated axonal activation, as well as to both block or enhance the propagation of action potentials of specific motor neurons. Thus, in addition to previously shown excitation, we demonstrate an optical method of suppressing components of the nervous system with functional spatiotemporal precision. We believe this technique is well-suited for non-invasive investigations of diverse excitable tissues and may ultimately be applied for treating neurological disorders.
Language
English
Publication Title
Scientific Reports
Grant
DMS-1010434
Rights
© 2013 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/), which permits non-commercial distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Recommended Citation
Duke AR, Jenkins MW, Lu H, McManus JM, Chiel HJ, Jansen ED. Transient and selective suppression of neural activity with infrared light. Sci Rep. 2013;3:2600. doi: 10.1038/srep02600. PMID: 24009039; PMCID: PMC3764437.
Manuscript Version
Final Publisher Version