Functional optogenetic dissection of the brain

Cellular & Integrative NeuroscienceCellular & Integrative Neuroscience (CI)

Organised by Alexander Gourine (University College London, UK) and Sergey Kasparov (University of Bristol, UK)

Optogenetic technologies have taken neuroscience by storm. Genetically encoded light-gated channels (such as channelrhodopsins), pumps (such as archaerhodopsin) and light-sensitive G protein-coupled receptors permit optical control of neuronal and astroglial CNS ensembles with unprecedented specificity, spatial and temporal resolution. Genetically-encoded probes of cellular activity (Ca2+ sensitive proteins, voltage-sensitive proteins, pHluorin-based reporters of synaptic vesicle fusion) allow monitoring activities of defined populations of brain cells both in vitro and in vivo. The proposed symposium will review the latest breakthroughs in this dynamic and rapidly advancing field by featuring presentations of the leading experts in the developing and application of optogenetic tools for neuroscience.

Use of microbial photoreceptors to light-manipulate cells and organisms
Georg Nagel (Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, Germany)
Light-sensitive G-protein-coupled receptors
Stefan Herlitze (Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Germany)
Optogenetic Tools: Genomic Mining and Molecular Engineering
Brian Chow (University of Pennsylvania and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA)
Optogenetic analysis of bidirectional astrocyte-neurone communication within brainstem noradrenergic nuclei
Anja Teschemacher (University of Bristol, UK)
Imaging the synaptic transfer of visual information using genetically-encoded reporters
Leon Lagnado (University of Cambridge, UK)
Genetically encoded reporters of membrane activity
Thomas Knöpfel (RIKEN Brain Science Institute, Japan)