The 2026 Nobel Prize in Medicine Has Been Awarded to Three Scientists for Research into Brain Activity Using the Activation of Neurons Directly within the Brain with Light.

•           The method allows for the insertion of genetic information of light-sensitive proteins into specific nerve cells.

•           By applying light, individual neurons in a living organism can be switched on or off with extreme precision.

•           This technology is used to investigate the links between brain circuits and memory, behavior, and fear mechanisms.

 

“It all began when P. Hegemann started investigating how unicellular green algae are able to swim toward light. Together with G. Nagel, they discovered a specific protein that, when exposed to blue light, opens a channel and generates an electrical impulse. When this protein is introduced into other cells, they become sensitive to light.

 

Later, using the gene that encodes this protein, K. Deisseroth created a light-controlled switch for nerve cells in the brains of living mice.

 

‘It is a highly precise toolkit that enables brain activity research that would be quite difficult to conduct using other methods,’ stated Jeremy Berg, a representative of the University of Pittsburgh.”