optogeneticsn.
/ˌɒptə(ʊ)dʒᵻˈnɛtɪks/, U.S. /ˌɑptoʊdʒəˈnɛdɪks/ Biology.
A technique in neuroscience in which genes for light-sensitive proteins are introduced into specific types of brain cell in order to monitor and control their activity precisely using light signals.
ΚΠ
2008 M. B. Schneider et al. in Amer. Jrnl. Psychiatry 165 562/1 With a new technology called optogenetics, it is possible to turn neuronal activity on and off in distinct neuronal populations, using cell-type specific, optically-sensitive, molecular, neuronal activity ‘switches’.
2013 Wall St. Jrnl. 9 Apr. a13/2 New, noninvasive tools like optogenetics and calcium imaging enable us to see and manipulate the brain at the molecular level.
2016 Guardian (Nexis) 12 Feb. In recent years, researchers have used optogenetics to label hippocampal neurons that become active during memory formation in the mouse brain.
This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, June 2017; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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