Optogenetics: Tools for Controlling and Monitoring Neuronal Activity

Optogenetics is a fast-growing field concerning the invention, and use, of molecules that are genetically expressed in cells, and then either report on cellular physiology in optical form, or enable control of specific pathways in cells when actuated by light. This book reviews the current state, as well as the underlying principles and future directions, of a diversity of optogenetic tools of importance for observing and controlling cellular signaling and physiology.

These tools are already revolutionizing neuroscience, and are starting to have impact on fields ranging from metabolism to development to cardiology. The book contains a dozen chapters written by world experts on these topics, half focusing on the optogenetic molecular tools themselves, and half on the genetic and hardware approaches that make them powerfully useful in intact tissues and organisms.

Leading authors review the state-of-the-art in their field of investigation and provide their views and perspectives for future researchChapters are extensively referenced to provide readers with a comprehensive list of resources on the topics coveredAll chapters include comprehensive background information and are written in a clear form that is also accessible to the non-specialist

1. A comprehensive concept of optogenetics

Guillaume P. Dugué, Walther Akemann, and Thomas Knöpfel

2. Optogenetic excitation of neurons with channelrhodopsins: light instrumentation, expression systems, and channelrhodopsin variants

John Y. Lin

3. Genetically encoded molecular tools for light-driven silencing of targeted neurons

Brian Y. Chow, Xue Han, and Edward S. Boyden

4. Genetically encoded probes for optical imaging of brain electrical activity

Amelie Perron, Walther Akemann, Hiroki Mutoh and Thomas Knöpfel

5. Neural activity imaging with genetically encoded calcium indicators

Lin Tian, Jasper Akerboom, Eric R. Schreiter, and Loren L. Looger

6. Manipulating cellular processes using optical control of protein-protein interactions

Chandra L. Tucker

7. Two-photon optogenetics

Dan Oron, Eirini Papagiakoumou, F. Anselmi, and Valentina Emiliani

8. Zebrafish as an appealing model for optogenetic studies

Joshua Simmich, Eric Staykov, and Ethan Scott

9. Genetic targeting of specific neuronal cell types in the cerebral cortex

Alan Urban, and Jean Rossier

10. Mouse transgenic approaches in optogenetics

Hongkui Zeng, and Linda Madisen

11. Optogenetics in the nonhuman primate

Xue Han

12. Optogenetic Reporters: Fluorescent Protein-Based Genetically-Encoded Indicators of Signaling and Metabolism in the Brain Mathew Tantama, Yin Pun Hung,and Gary Yellen