School of Information and Electronics, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China.
Department of Neurology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
J Alzheimers Dis. 2020;74(1):29-41. doi: 10.3233/JAD-191240.
Light modulation plays an important role in understanding the pathology of brain disorders and improving brain function. Optogenetic techniques can activate or silence targeted neurons with high temporal and spatial accuracy and provide precise control, and have recently become a method for quick manipulation of genetically identified types of neurons. Photobiomodulation (PBM) is light therapy that utilizes non-ionizing light sources, including lasers, light emitting diodes, or broadband light. It provides a safe means of modulating brain activity without any irreversible damage and has established optimal treatment parameters in clinical practice. This manuscript reviews 1) how optogenetic approaches have been used to dissect neural circuits in animal models of Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and depression, and 2) how low level transcranial lasers and LED stimulation in humans improves brain activity patterns in these diseases. State-of-the-art brain machine interfaces that can record neural activity and stimulate neurons with light have good prospects in the future.
光调节在理解脑疾病的病理学和改善脑功能方面起着重要作用。光遗传学技术可以以高时间和空间精度激活或沉默靶向神经元，并提供精确的控制，最近已成为快速操纵基因鉴定的神经元类型的一种方法。光生物调节（PBM）是利用非电离光源（包括激光、发光二极管或宽带光）的光疗。它提供了一种安全的调节脑活动的方法，而不会造成任何不可逆转的损伤，并在临床实践中建立了最佳的治疗参数。本文综述了 1）光遗传学方法如何用于在阿尔茨海默病、帕金森病和抑郁症的动物模型中剖析神经回路，以及 2）低水平经颅激光和 LED 刺激如何改善这些疾病中的脑活动模式。能够记录神经活动并用光刺激神经元的最先进的脑机接口在未来有很好的前景。
