Study shows promise of optogenetics as a new epilepsy treatment

December 11, 2024

A new study published in Nature Neuroscience has shown for the first time that a technique that uses light to control the activity of neurons can stop seizure-like activity in human brain tissue. This technique, called optogenetics, involves the insertion of light-sensitive genes into specific neurons, which then can be turned “on” or “off” using pulses of light.

HWNI faculty member David Schaffer was a member of the team that made the discovery. He determined the best virus to deliver the genes into the neurons of interest, in brain tissue taken from epilepsy patients. In the future, this type of approach could potentially be an alternative to surgery for epilepsy patients whose seizures can’t be controlled by medication, and could also lead to new treatments for other neurological disorders.

A microscopy image of a brain slice, mostly black with some cells glowing cyan. The brightest cyan cells are aligned in an irregular U-shape.

Gene delivery by a recombinant virus vehicle (shown in cyan) on a human brain slice. Photo courtesy of David Schaffer.


Read more from the UC Berkeley College of Chemistry.