Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • In Brief
  • Published:

Techniques

The power of radio waves

Nature Reviews Neuroscience volume 16, page 578 (2015)Cite this article

Subjects

Access through your institution
Buy or subscribe

Until now, the use of optogenetic techniques to depolarize neurons in awake behaving animals has required the animal to wear a head-mounted device to deliver a light source. Now, a miniaturized wireless device that is powered and controlled by radio waves has been developed and can be implanted subcutaneously. The device delivers enough light to activate channelrhodopsins in the central or peripheral nervous systems, thus enabling neuronal depolarization while observing less restricted behaviour than previously possible.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Access through your institution

Buy this article

  • Purchase on SpringerLink
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

  1. Montgomery, K. L. et al. Wirelessly powered, fully internal optogenetics for brain, spinal and peripheral circuits in mice. Nat. Methods http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nmeth.3536 (2015)

Download references

Authors
  1. Sian Lewis
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Lewis, S. The power of radio waves. Nat Rev Neurosci 16, 578 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn4031

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn4031

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing