News Neuroscience

Scientists remotely controlled the social behavior of mice with light

The new devices allow complex wireless control of mouse brain activity

a long, thin electronic device with microchips in the middle and lights at either end

A new type of device remotely activates or suppresses neurons in mice using four hues of LEDs. It can be secured to the rodents’ heads (left end of the device) and backs (right end).

Yiyuan Yang and Abraham Vázquez-Guardado

By Charles Q. Choi

- More than 2 years ago

With the help of headsets and backpacks on mice, scientists are using light to switch nerve cells on and off in the rodents’ brains to probe the animals’ social behavior, a new study shows.