Neural Code of the Brain Decoded by Researchers

Brain signals were read by lighting up the genetically encoded activity sensors in the nerve cells. Prof. Hausser and colleagues engineered nerve cells in the brains of mice to read and write brain signals. They engineered the same nerve cells to express light-sensitive proteins and to write brain signals that can be activated with flashes of light. Brain activity was observed and controlled in mice by combining the techniques. "Just as we combine ...