They are rewarded for discoveries in optogenetics

The laureates are rewarded "for their discoveries concerning light-controlled ion channels and optogenetics". It is a method that makes it possible to create cells that can be controlled by light.

With the help of the technology, the researchers have been able to show, among other things, which nerve circuits regulate specific memories, emotions, behaviors and various characteristics that are involved in, for example, psychiatric diagnoses, writes the Nobel Assembly in a press release.

Optogenetics is used today in several research areas, for example it has revolutionized brain research and researchers use the method to try to recreate the sight of the blind, among other things.

- Optogenetics has given us opportunities to map the brain in a way that we could previously only dream of, says Per Svenningsson, chairman of the Nobel Committee for Physiology or Medicine in a statement.

Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel started in the early 2000s from how a single-celled alga can search for light. In this way, they discovered the protein channelrhodopsin, which creates an electrical impulse when hit by blue light.

Karl Deisseroth showed a little later how the gene for this protein can be used to create light-sensitive brain cells in rats. This provides a kind of light-controlled switch, which can turn individual neurons on and off.

"With optogenetics, our image of the brain has fundamentally changed. With each passing day, new knowledge is created that contributes to solving one of humanity's greatest mysteries: how our unique brain works," writes the Nobel Assembly in the press release.

The prize sum of 12 million Swedish kronor is divided equally between the prize winners.