Principles of designing interpretable optogenetic behavior experiments
- Brian D. Allen1,2,3,4,
- Annabelle C. Singer1,2,3,4 and
- Edward S. Boyden1,2,3
- 1Media Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
- 2McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
- 3Departments of Biological Engineering and Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
- Corresponding author: esb{at}media.mit.edu
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↵4 These authors contributed equally to this work.
Abstract
Over the last decade, there has been much excitement about the use of optogenetic tools to test whether specific cells, regions, and projection pathways are necessary or sufficient for initiating, sustaining, or altering behavior. However, the use of such tools can result in side effects that can complicate experimental design or interpretation. The presence of optogenetic proteins in cells, the effects of heat and light, and the activity of specific ions conducted by optogenetic proteins can result in cellular side effects. At the network level, activation or silencing of defined neural populations can alter the physiology of local or distant circuits, sometimes in undesired ways. We discuss how, in order to design interpretable behavioral experiments using optogenetics, one can understand, and control for, these potential confounds.
Footnotes
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Article is online at http://www.learnmem.org/cgi/doi/10.1101/lm.038026.114.
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Freely available online through the Learning & Memory Open Access option.
- Received December 30, 2014.
- Accepted February 13, 2015.
This article, published in Learning & Memory, is available under a Creative Commons License (Attribution 4.0 International), as described at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
