Michigan State University - Research Groups

Optogenetics, a technique to manipulate the temporal firing patterns of genetically targeted neurons using

light, is having a profound impact on the ability to probe the neural circuits that orchestrate our sensory, cognitive and motor functions. Progressive perturbation of these circuits under systematic variation of light patterns and studying their ensuing adaptation holds a great promise in explaining many unknown mechanisms of neuroplasticity. We discuss in this minisymposium some of the recent advances in the analysis and interpretation of light-evoked neural data, and how the systematic perturbation of the underlying neural circuits can substantially improve the way we characterize neuroplasticity at the cellular and ensemble level in vivo.