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An Optogenetic Guide to the Brain

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WAKO, Japan, July 20, 2010 — Scientists at RIKEN have developed a genetically encoded fluorescent sensor that can act as a direct optical indicator of signaling activity in the living brain. This powerful tool, described in a new article from Nature Methods, promises to help neuroscientists identify and monitor the behavior of neural circuits involved in motor activity, sensory perception and other functions. When in their rest state, nerve cells emit a bluish-purple light with a wavelength of 440 nm, whereas in an excited state they emit blue light with a wavelength of between 470 and 495 nm. When neural activity...Read full article

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    Published: July 2010
    Glossary
    förster resonance energy transfer
    Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) is a mechanism describing the transfer of energy between two closely spaced fluorescent molecules. This phenomenon is named after the German scientist Theodor Förster, who first described it in the context of dipole-dipole interactions between molecules. In FRET, two fluorophores (molecules that fluoresce, or emit light, upon excitation) are involved: a donor and an acceptor. The donor fluorophore absorbs a photon and, instead of emitting a...
    Asia-PacificBiophotonicsbrainBrain Science Institutefluorescent sensorsFörster resonance energy transferFRETImagingJapanmotor activitymouse whiskersNature Methodsnerve cellsneural circuitsneuronsoptogenetics RIKENResearch & TechnologySensors & Detectorssensory perceptionsomatosensory cortexThomas Knöpfelvoltage potentialvoltage-sensitive fluorescent proteinsVSFPs

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