The activity of certain nerve cells to control of light and thus to influence the movements of mice, researchers at the Ruhr-University succeeded. By special receptors in nerve cells of the cerebellum thus altered, that they carried on and the light could be switched off, the researchers showed that the signaling pathways play, turn on the receptors, a crucial role in the control of movement. Unlike conventional methods, the researchers affect the so-called targeted optogenetics one cell type. "We will now use this method to find out what exactly is wrong with movement disorders such as ataxias in the nerve cells," said Prof. Dr. Stefan Herlitze (RUB Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology). The researchers report in the Journal of Biological Chemistry.
