FEF inactivation with improved optogenetic methods

Leah Acker, Erica N Pino, Edward S Boyden, Robert Desimone. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Nov 2016.

Abstract

Optogenetic methods have been highly effective for suppressing neural activity and modulating behavior in rodents, but effects have been much smaller in primates, which have much larger brains. Here, we present a suite of technologies to use optogenetics effectively in primates and apply these tools to a classic question in oculomotor control. First, we measured light absorption and heat propagation in vivo, optimized the conditions for using the red-light-shifted halorhodopsin Jaws in primates,…