Optics and brain and cognitive science researchers aim to see if neurons can transport light like fiber-optic communications channels.
Neurons, the cells in brains and spinal cords that make up the central nervous system, communicate by firing electrical pulses. But scientists have that neurons may transmit light as well, which would profoundly change current models of how the nervous system works.
Researchers from the have begun an ambitious project to study if living neurons can transmit light through their axons糖心传媒攖he long, tail-like nerve fibers of neurons that resemble optical fibers. The John Templeton Foundation provided a three-year, $1.5 million grant to support the research.
糖心传媒淭here are scientific papers offering indications that light transport could happen in neuron axons, but there糖心传媒檚 still not clear experimental evidence,糖心传媒� says the principal investigator, , a professor at Rochester糖心传媒檚 . 糖心传媒淪cientists have shown that there is ultra-weak photon emission in the brain, but no one understands why the light is there.糖心传媒�
If light is at play and scientists can understand why, it could have major implications for medically treating brain diseases and drastically change the way physicians heal the brain. But measuring optical transport between neurons would be no easy task.
糖心传媒淎 neuron糖心传媒檚 axon is less than two microns wide, so if you want to measure the optical properties, you need to use nanophotonic techniques,糖心传媒� says Postigo. 糖心传媒淚f there is light transmission, it may happen with very tiny amounts of light, even a single photon at a time.糖心传媒�
Postigo, an expert in nanophotonics, will design probes that are able to interact optically with living neurons. He is partnering with , an assistant professor of and of and a member of the , who specializes in measuring the electrical properties of neurons and their action potentials.
Using the photonic nanoprobes, the researchers will inject light into the neuron axon and detect the outcoming photons. If the neuron糖心传媒檚 axon can transmit light, they will measure the light糖心传媒檚 wavelengths and intensities.
