2017 Articles

Non-invasive, Focused Ultrasound-Facilitated Gene Delivery for Optogenetics

Wang, Shutao; Kugelman, Tara; Buch, Amanda M.; Herman, Mathieu; Han, Yang; Karakatsani, Maria Eleni; Hussaini, Syed Abid; Duff, Karen E.; Konofagou, Elisa E.

Optogenetics, a widely used technique in neuroscience research, is often limited by its invasive nature of application. Here, we present a noninvasive, ultrasound-based technique to introduce optogenetic channels into the brain by temporarily opening the blood-brain barrier (BBB). We demonstrate the efficiency of the method developed and evaluate the bioactivity of the non-invasively introduced channelrhodopsin channels by performing stimulation in freely behaving mice.