Seeing the Sound: Optical Neural Interfaces for In Vivo Neuromodulation
Optogenetics has transformed experimental neuroscience by manipulating the activity of specific cell types with light, enabling in vivo neuromodulation with millisecond temporal resolution. Visible light with wavelengths between 430 nm and 640 nm is used for optogenetics, limiting penetration depth in vivo and resulting in an invasive fiber-tethered interface that damages the endogenous neural tissue and constrains the animal’s free behavior. In this talk, I will present two recent methods to address this challenge: “sono-optogenetics” and “macromolecular infrared nanotransducers for deep-brain stimulation (MINDS)”. In the first method, we demonstrate that mechanoluminescent nanoparticles can act as circulation-delivered nanotransducers to convert sound into light for noninvasive optogenetic neuromodulation in live mice. In the second method, we demonstrate 1064-nm near-infrared-II light can penetrate the brain to reach 5-mm depths for modulating neural activity in tether-free, freely behaving animals. I will present an outlook on how new optical neural interfaces may advance neuroscience research by reducing the invasiveness and mechanical restraints in live animals and even humans.
Access is free to subscribers of the IEEE Brain Community.
Instructor
Dr. Guosong Hong
Dr. Guosong Hong received his PhD in chemistry from Stanford University in 2014, and then carried out postdoctoral studies with at Harvard University. Dr. Hong joined Stanford Materials Science and Engineering and Neurosciences Institute as an assistant professor in 2018, and his research at Stanford aims to develop and apply novel optical and electronic materials for minimally invasive brain interfacing. He has published >70 papers in journals including Science, Nature Reviews Neuroscience, Nature Medicine, Nature Photonics, Nature Methods, Nature Biomedical Engineering, Nature Materials, Nature Nanotechnology, Nature Communications and PNAS with a total citation of >16,000. He is a recipient of the NIH Pathway to Independence (K99/R00) Award, the MIT Technology Review ‘35 Innovators Under 35’ Award, the Science PINS Prize for Neuromodulation, and the NSF CAREER Award.
Publication Year: 2021