What is Optogenetics and Its Potential Impact on Neuroscience?

[S.S]

hello,
I was just wondering if I can get a clear cut idea about optogenetics and how it will help in the near future.

 

[Pythagorean]

In neuroscience, optogenetic methods use proteins that interact with light and are spliced into neurons to allow researchers to send control signals to the neuron. Thus, they can express these light-detecting proteins in a rat's brain, then hook it up to a light source (as in the image I've attached) then send signals do activate or deactivate particular neurons.

More specifically, in terms of neural mechanisms, the bulk of channels that make the neuron fire are voltage-activated, whereas these manmade expressed channels are light-activated

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Channelrhodopsin

http://www.letemps.ch/rw/Le_Temps/Quotidien/00_Marbre/Temps%20fort/Images/rat%20optogenetics--469x239.jpg