First modification:
Sight is one of the most important senses of all living beings and losing it is a great challenge. Currently, the French Vision Institute is developing an innovative technique to restore sight: sonogenetics. The scientists are in the experimental phase of the project and it is a method that enables the visual cortex to be activated when contact between brain and eye neurons has been lost. “A new way to stimulate the brain”, says our guest.
Ignacio Alcalá, a doctoral student in neurosciences at the Instituto de la Sight, based in Paris, has been working for some time on sonogenetics, innovative research to restore vision.
“Sonogenetics focuses on being able to reactivate neurons with ultrasound and for that we need to sensitize the neurons. How do we do it? We use genetic modification tools so that the neurons we are interested in studying can become sensitive to ultrasound,” Alcalá specifies.
The research carried out at the Vision Institute is based on a constant stimulation of neurons, the human brain has more than 100,000 million of them.
“Thanks to all the tools we have, genetic modification allows us to choose precisely which part of the brain we want to study and also what type of neurons we want to study,” notes the scientist.
What reading to make of the tests that are currently carried out with mice? How long could that experimental phase take before it can be applied clinically in humans? This and much more in this installment of Escala en París.
