Pinto Bernardo I, Bassetto Carlos A Z, Bezanilla Francisco
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637 USA.
Centro Interdisciplinario de Neurociencia de Valparaíso, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Valparaíso, Valparaíso, Chile.
Biophys Rev. 2022 Apr 13;14(2):569-577. doi: 10.1007/s12551-022-00943-9. eCollection 2022 Apr.
The observation that membrane capacitance increases with temperature has led to the development of new methods of neuronal stimulation using light. The optocapacitive effect refers to a light-induced change in capacitance produced by the heating of the membrane through a photothermal effect. This change in capacitance manifests as a current, named optocapacitive current that depolarizes cells and therefore can be used to stimulate excitable tissues. Here, we discuss how optocapacitance arises from basic membrane properties, the characteristics of the optocapacitive current, its use for neuronal stimulation, and the challenges for its application in vivo.
膜电容随温度升高这一现象促使了利用光进行神经元刺激新方法的发展。光电容效应是指通过光热效应使膜受热从而引起的电容光诱导变化。这种电容变化表现为一种电流，称为光电容电流，它可使细胞去极化，因此可用于刺激可兴奋组织。在此，我们将讨论光电容如何源于基本的膜特性、光电容电流的特征、其在神经元刺激中的应用以及在体内应用所面临的挑战。
