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Optogenetic researchers innovate method to stimulate brain regrowth
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Researchers at the Stanford School of Medicine have developed a new way to stimulate the brain to regrow damaged areas after a stroke occurs in mice, with potential to translate to treatment for strokes in humans even years after the initial stroke.
The study, conducted by Gary Steinberg Ph.D. ’79 M.D. ’80, professor and chair of neurosurgery and the study’s senior author, was published Aug. 18 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Last Wednesday, the study’s co-author, Karl Deisseroth Ph.D.’98 M.D. ’00, also won the 2014 Keio Medical Science Prize for his work with optogenetics.
The Stanford team used a technique called optogenetics, a combination of optical and genetic methods, to selectively activate neurons that had been genetically sensitized to light.
The mice were genetically altered to express a certain light-sensitive protein called rhodopsin, which could be selectively stimulated in the motor cortex, an area of the brain that controls movement, balance, strength and other physical activities.
Using an optical fiber implanted in the mice’s brain motor cortexes, the researchers stimulated the location where a stroke, previously induced, occurred and monitored biochemical changes and blood flow to verify that the nerve cells were activated.
More: [link to www.stanforddaily.com]
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