In order to understand how the brain works, researchers have been for years now switching neurons off and on to see what happens. But it's difficult and messy to do this physically. This article describes the most recent technology: using a combination of infrared light, which shines right through brain tissue, and introducing light-sensitive algal proteins into neurons, which heat up in infrared light, and hence stimulate the neuron. The technique is called 'optogenetics' and is currently being tested in mice. It's only a matter of time before people try it in humans, of course, and it will be interesting to see what results - maybe better experiments, maybe light-induced hallucinations, maybe a new form of virtual reality.
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