Optogenetics and Nutrition

Optogenetics is a biological technique that uses light to turn on or turn off certain groups of neurons in the
brain. The advantage of optogenetics is that it has cell specificity. In this way, certain groups of neurons
can be targeted and all their functions can be examined. In optogenetics, light is transformed into electrical
potentials that form the function of a neuron and loaded onto specific neurons with proteins called opsin.
When light is shined on the designated area of the brain, only opsin-loaded neurons are activated, and in this
way the desired potential is created. The first studies of optogenetics were sending light to the brain through
optical fibers, so that the subjects were physically connected to a control station. Later, researchers used
wireless electronics to allow subjects to move freely with a battery-free technique. However, these devices
have proved difficult to use because they are large in volume and often attached to the outside of the skull
visibly, do not allow precise control of the frequency or intensity of light, and can only stimulate one area of
the brain at a time. Which area of the brain the light will select, the control of the intensity of the light, and
the prevention of accidental activation of the neurons that are activated by the heat produced by the light
sources are important for studies. The development of optogenetic methods will make it easier to provide
diagnosis and treatment methods of many diseases with photons. Studies in brain regions related to nutrition
by optogenetic method are also very important in terms of treatment of nutritional disorders (hyperphagia,
anorexia, etc.).