Fear can be cured with light

Optogenetic is a method of combining genetic and genetic research techniques to control information processing in the brain.

Fear is a basic reaction for people to face physical and emotional dangers. This is an extremely complex form of psychology that involves many different types of disorders. A commonly used treatment to control fear is "quenching fear". Patients will face constantly with stimuli that cause fear to gradually get used to it.

However, this method has been proven to be reduced over time and many patients have relapsed later. Ki Goosens, an assistant professor of brain and cognitive science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, published a study showing that electrical signals in the neural network are capable of controlling fear. This study could lead to new steps to help people deal with fear, anxiety, and even post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Goosens has identified a connection between the parts of the brain that store fear and a storage area of ​​positive events. This neural network is called the BLA-NAC circuit . The key question is whether the treatment is quenching the fear of whether it is really useful and has long-term effects?

A laboratory mouse is being treated against fear by the Optogenetic method.(Image source: MIT) .

The researchers experimented by shocking the mice with a special type of noise. Since then, every time I hear this kind of noise, the mice will be very scared. The treatment of fear suppression is given by letting the mice hear the noise many times without shocking them.

The results of the mice actually stopped fearing the noise. And in the process of treating the neural network of BLA-NAC region, there are signs of very strong activity.

Later, the researchers tested other mice, causing them to have similar fears. However, instead of using fear suppression, they use optical and genetic methods (optogenetic) to directly stimulate the BLA-NAC regional nervous system. The results are very positive and the results obtained are similar to using the method of quenching fear.

Optogenetics is a newly developed technique aimed at controlling the activity of individual neurons. Nerve cell signals are triggered by the movement of charged, or ionic atoms, through channels in the cell membrane.

Some algae and other organisms have light-sensitive proteins, encoded in DNA by special genes. Using methods from gene therapy, scientists can inject these genes into animal neurons, making the cells "on" or "off" in response to light.

With the optogenetics technique, researchers can go further in observing brain activity to actively control it. For example, by turning into olfactory neurons, scientists can create a stimulus of smell with light - in other words, when light changes, neurons are activated for us. The feeling of smell.

The treatment of fear by optogenetics method promises to make patients feel more comfortable, light and fast in time compared to other methods.