7 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleMichelle RobertsDigital health editor
Getty ImagesUS psychiatrist and neurologist Karl Deisseroth and his German colleagues Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel have been awarded this year’s Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their work in the field of optogenetics.
Their research has helped scientists learn more about the workings of the mind, to better understand how the human brain works.
The Nobel Committee praised the trio for laying the foundation of a new era in neuroscience and revealing the neural circuits behind “specific memories, feelings, and behaviours relevant for neurological and psychiatric disorders”.
In clinical medicine, researchers are using the method to try to restore sight in people with visual impairment.
“Optogenetics has fundamentally altered our understanding of the brain,” the Nobel Assembly said.
“Every day brings new discoveries, helping to solve one of humanity’s great mysteries: how our incredible brain works.”
The winners said it was “absolutely wonderful” to get the award, and that it was an honour to share the accolade with friends.
The three men will also share the £900,000 (12 million Swedish kronor) prize money.
Per Svenningsson, chair of the Nobel Committee for Physiology or Medicine, explained: “Optogenetics provides opportunities for mapping the brain in a way that we could once only dream of.”
Before, the inner workings behind feelings, behaviours and bodily functions were more of a mystery to scientists.
Optogentics is a way to illuminate brain pathways, using a special protein borrowed from algae that scientists use to control cell electrical activity using light.
In the early 2000s, Hegemann and Nagel discovered channelrhodopsin, the algal protein with unique properties.
Researchers have since been able to study nerve cells and pathways to see and discover much more about what they do.
