Neuron
Volume 33, Issue 1, 3 January 2002, Pages 15-22
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Neurotechnique
Selective Photostimulation of Genetically ChARGed Neurons

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0896-6273(01)00574-8Get rights and content
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Abstract

To permit direct functional analyses of neural circuits, we have developed a method for stimulating groups of genetically designated neurons optically. Coexpression of the Drosophila photoreceptor genes encoding arrestin-2, rhodopsin (formed by liganding opsin with retinal), and the α subunit of the cognate heterotrimeric G protein—an explosive combination we term “chARGe”—sensitizes generalist vertebrate neurons to light. Illumination of a mixed population of neurons elicits action potentials selectively and cell-autonomously in its genetically chARGed members. In contrast to bath-applied photostimulants or caged neurotransmitters, which act indiscriminately throughout the illuminated volume, chARGe localizes the responsiveness to light. Distributed activity may thus be fed directly into a circumscribed population of neurons in intact tissue, irrespective of the spatial arrangement of its elements.

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