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MIT Shows How to Shut Down Brain With Light

Posted by samzenpus on from the men-in-black dept.

An anonymous reader writes "The MIT home-page story today is about a way to use light to shut down brain activity. "Scientists at the MIT Media Lab have invented a way to reversibly silence brain cells using pulses of yellow light, offering the prospect of controlling the haywire neuron activity that occurs in diseases such as epilepsy and Parkinson's disease."

36 of 223 comments (clear)

  1. There are easier ways by joe_cot · · Score: 5, Funny

    There are easier ways to shut down brain activity. 4chan comes to mind.

    1. Re:There are easier ways by drwiii · · Score: 5, Funny

      Rule 1 violation.

    2. Re:There are easier ways by The+Relentless · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Using light? I've had a lot of professors that seemed to be able to shut down brains using sound. Generally their own voice was sufficient.

  2. Who wants to bet... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...that this is actually a plan to invent the Neuralizer from Men in Black?

  3. Finally! by Steve--Balllmer · · Score: 5, Funny

    ... a scientific reason why we /.ers should not leave the darkness of our parents' basements and our computer monitors, and continue to avoid the dreaded realm known as "outside".

    1. Re:Finally! by grammar+fascist · · Score: 2, Informative

      ... a scientific reason why we /.ers should not leave the darkness of our parents' basements and our computer monitors, and continue to avoid the dreaded realm known as "outside".

      You mean that big, blue room?

      I dunno about you, but I have problems going in there in the first place. That room is big. And it's got that huge, moving light that radiates heat. Probably, what, 1000 watts? Boggles the mind.
      --
      I got my Linux laptop at System76.
  4. Slight problem with their idea... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful
    According to the article:

    When neurons are engineered to express the halorhodopsin gene, the researchers can inhibit their activity by shining yellow light on them. Light activates the chloride pumps, which drive chloride ions into the neurons, lowering their voltage and silencing their firing. So, if we genetically engineer some people with Parkinson's or epilepsy to have these halorhodopsin neurons, we can give them a normal life as long as we find a way to shine light directly into their brains?
    1. Re:Slight problem with their idea... by mrbluze · · Score: 3, Insightful

      So, if we genetically engineer some people with Parkinson's or epilepsy to have these halorhodopsin neurons, we can give them a normal life as long as we find a way to shine light directly into their brains?

      I think the article infers that we genetically engineer animals with Parkinson's and Epilepsy having the gene (that is, set up a disease model), then implant LED's into their heads, play with the lights and see what happens, then get a PhD and maybe even a Nobel Prize.

      It's unlikely they would use this method in actual human therapy.

      --
      Do it yourself, because no one else will do it yourself. [beta blockade 10-17 Feb]
    2. Re:Slight problem with their idea... by mrogers · · Score: 2, Interesting

      It might be possible to use retroviruses to insert the light-sensitive genes into the patients' cells.

    3. Re:Slight problem with their idea... by kripkenstein · · Score: 4, Insightful
      No, actually the article directly implies that human treatment will come out of this:

      "In the future, controlling the activity patterns of neurons may enable very specific treatments for neurological and psychiatric diseases, with few or no side effects," said Edward Boyden, assistant professor
      - so this is not just a case of a bad writeup of serious research, or a bad summary on Slashdot. It could be a quote taken out of context, though. In any case, the researchers think this (or something related to it) will be viable eventually, while I, for one, must agree with the grandparent post - how exactly will these light-sensitive chloride pumps get into the brains of already-living sick people?

      I assume that the final human treatment, if any is arrived at, will be very different from what they are doing at present. Time will tell. In any case, a very interesting area of research, even if it is hyped a little regarding possible applications.
  5. does it come in an ale? by User+956 · · Score: 4, Funny

    The MIT home-page story today is about a way to use light to shut down brain activity.

    Well, I guess that's cheaper than alcohol.

    --
    The theory of relativity doesn't work right in Arkansas.
  6. Politics by nagora · · Score: 5, Funny

    Expect to see a lot of yellow lights at party rallies from now on...

    --
    "Encyclopedia" is to "Wikipedia" what "Library" is to "Some people at a bus stop"
  7. Makes sense by gaderael · · Score: 2, Funny

    Considering certain patterns of light, as found in some video games, for example, have the ability to bring about seizures and people the suffer from Epilepsy, it makes sanse that certain patterns of light would also be able to reverse that effect.

    --
    Anyone got a light for my sig?
    1. Re:Makes sense by bindo · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Considering certain patterns of light, as found in some video games, for example, have the ability to bring about seizures and people the suffer from Epilepsy, it makes sanse that certain patterns of light would also be able to reverse that effect.

      Considering certain patterns of falling boulders, as found on some mountains, for example, have the ability to bring death and people the suffer from Epilepsy (sic!). it makes sanse that certain patterns of falling boulders would also be able to reverse that effect.
      NOT!

      Common sense is not a substitute for knowledge. The two effects are not even related.

    2. Re:Makes sense by Shrubber · · Score: 3, Funny

      Considering certain patterns of falling boulders, as found on some mountains, for example, have the ability to bring death and people the suffer from Epilepsy (sic!). it makes sanse that certain patterns of falling boulders would also be able to reverse that effect.
      Obviously. It's already been proven in cartoons time and time again that if something falling on your head causes amnesia or a personality change that additional impact to your head will cure it. In the case of personality change you may need to apply such force several times as you may simply trigger alternate personalities instead, but you can repeat until satisfied.
  8. Hooray! by mikkelm · · Score: 5, Funny

    Finally I can get a pair of tinfoil shades to go with my hat.

  9. Re:Or Wolfe by cnettel · · Score: 4, Informative

    This is direct exposure, not through the eyes. In addition, the neurons have been altered (an added gene with a photosensitive product) to respond to this treatment.

  10. I, for one... by bwd234 · · Score: 3, Funny

    welcome our new yellow light emitting overlords!

  11. Damn yellowish incandescents. by SeaFox · · Score: 2, Funny

    Scientists at the MIT Media Lab have invented a way to reversibly silence brain cells using pulses of yellow light

    Yet another reason CFLs are better!
  12. Another ,,, by BlueTrin · · Score: 5, Funny

    Another sexist topic about blonde girls !

    --
    Don't you know it is now both immoral and criminal to think beyond the next quarterly report?
  13. Requires halorhodopsin gene by sshore · · Score: 5, Interesting

    According to the article, the yellow light "silences" neurons that have been engineered to include the halorhodopsin gene found in certain bacteria. The light doesn't have the same effect on the neurons that you'd typically find in your skull.

    I'm not sure how this would be used clinically to treat epilepsy. Perhaps by introducing the genes into cells in the affected area using a retrovirus?

    1. Re:Requires halorhodopsin gene by TheSync · · Score: 2, Interesting

      There has already been an example of successful gene therapy with retroviruses, and no they didn't get caner, they were cured of cancer.

      However the blood-brain barrier is a limitation to brain gene therapy. So in 2003 a UCLA research team inserted genes into the brain using liposomes coated in polyethylene glycol.

  14. It's about brain implants for research purposes by mrbluze · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Did anyone read TFA? It has nothing to do with light entering the eye and hitting the retina. Forget the strobe lights!

    This study is great, because it means we can study animals better. It means researchers will get much more useful information from animal studies (instead of operating on 1000's of rabbits or something, they can do heaps of studies on just one rabbit), which will lead to new and better targets for drug research, better drugs, and perhaps a cure - way down the track.

    --
    Do it yourself, because no one else will do it yourself. [beta blockade 10-17 Feb]
    1. Re:It's about brain implants for research purposes by ogma · · Score: 3, Funny

      "This study is great ... instead of operating on 1000's of rabbits ... they can do heaps of studies on just one rabbit"

      Unless you're that one rabbit!

    2. Re:It's about brain implants for research purposes by bobscealy · · Score: 4, Funny

      Did anyone read TFA?



      You ain't from round here, are you boy?

  15. belonging by Stooshie · · Score: 2, Funny

    All your neuron are belong to us!

    --
    America, Home of the Brave. ... .and the Squaw.
  16. Great! by John+Betonschaar · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Now all we need is a different type of light to activate some people's brains!

  17. If yellow light shuts down brain cells... by SethHoyt · · Score: 5, Funny

    Could this explain why when a traffic light turns yellow, nobody seems to notice it?

  18. We already knew this by TomatoMan · · Score: 3, Funny

    TV has been shutting all of our brains down for decades.

    --
    -- http://frobnosticate.com
  19. Re:Yellow light? by Goaway · · Score: 2, Informative

    As far as it is possible to make any kind of statement about this, sunlight is white.

  20. With Light + *Genetic Engineering* by Doc+Ruby · · Score: 3, Informative

    When neurons are engineered to express the halorhodopsin gene, the researchers can inhibit their activity by shining yellow light on them.


    So not only would doctors have to get light inside the brain, they'd first have to genetically engineer the neurons to include and express the halorhodopsin gene. The right neurons: the ones that will later have Parkinson's Disease or whatever is being treated.

    How are they going to guess which neurons? Which healthy person is going to let them genetically engineer their neurons? Those neurons are going to behave the same, though they're now expressing proteins that make them work like retinal cells?

    Installing these shutdown hooks is a neat trick. But not for neurological medicine. Maybe for some biomechanics or biocomputation. Throwing genes into neurons for probing with light so violates our most absolutely personal spaces - inside our craniums and our genomes - that the cure is worse than the disease.
    --

    --
    make install -not war

  21. It's a wetware debugger. by TapeCutter · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I think the part about controling fits is very vaugue, I read "sponsor bait" or to be more polite speculation. Overall I think TFA gave the impression they are planning to use it to non-invasively investigate "circuits" in the hope of creating a device that can predict and prevent a fit with the minimum of intervention.

    The news (to me) in the story is a non-invasive tool that can "flip" individual neurons into a binary on/off state in a controlled manner. I don't know what current "tools" are capable of, nor their level of invasiveness, but it seems to me a wetware debbuging tool such as this could lead to an explosion of knowlage that would make it worthy of a Nobel prize in the not too distant future.

    Having said that, AFAIK indivdual neurons are not binary, their activity level is mesured as a "frequency". It would be interesting to know if the neuron's firing frequency can be controlled with more resolution than the simple on/off implied in TFA.

    --
    And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.
    1. Re:It's a wetware debugger. by TheObruniSpeaks · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Yes, both the "on" (channelrhodopsin + blue light) and the "off" (halorhodopsin + yellow light) work on millisecond timescales, just like neurons normally do. The halo paper itself in PLoS one has a great image of being able to assassinate a single spike in a neuron being fired at a typical rate. You can also record a neuron's normal firing pattern and "play it back" with incredible fidelity using blue light to cause the firing.

  22. Works on drivers by Frank+T.+Lofaro+Jr. · · Score: 2, Funny

    Yellow light shuts down brain activity in the drivers here in Nevada quite well.

    Makes them forget that a yellow light means "go slow", not "go really really really fast".

    --
    Just because it CAN be done, doesn't mean it should!
  23. L.O.O.K.E.R. by HTH+NE1 · · Score: 2, Informative

    Nah. I think they're trying to make the Disco-Hypno gun from Looker
    Ah yes, the L.O.O.K.E.R. gun (Light Ocular Oriented Kinetic Energetic Responsers).
    --
    Oh, say does that Star-Spangled Banner entwine / The myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's vine?
  24. See also: melanopsin, receptor in human eye, sleep by ankhank · · Score: 2, Interesting

    This fits the discovery by Brainerd in 2001 that the human (and animal) eye has a receptor for blue light that controls the circadian clock.

    The cataract surgeons are debating whether it's safer to put in plastic replacement lenses that block blue (to maybe reduce the risk of eye damage from blue light), or if that's a bad idea. Turns out reducing blue during the daytime makes people sleepier.

    There's a lot to this; I wonder if the MIT folks know about the other work in the area of using blue light to stay awake, and low-blue or no-blue light for sleepiness.

    Can't quite tell from the bit online if this is the same chemistry or a different reaction.

    Quick link to a hugely informative site that collects this sort of info for science reference:

    http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:VaVv_OUCa4IJ: www.ihop-net.org/UniPub/iHOP/gismo/105192.html+%2B IOL+%2B%22blue+light%22+%2Balertness&hl=en&ct=clnk &cd=5&