Latest Neuroscience Technologies

The last decade was an incredible time for neuroscience research as a number of technological breakthroughs have been made, sparking a deeper understanding of normal and pathological brain mechanisms.

(1) Stem cell Technology

Stem cells have been an area of mystery and scientific intrigue that afford plasticity to regenerate, repair and modulate nervous system function. Establishment of neural stem cells (NSCs) as a life-long source of neurons and glia is considered as one of the landmark achievement in neuroscience research. New advances in stem cell technology enable discovery of novel therapies based on the knowledge and application of these unique heterogeneous population of cells, which can differentiate into different types of brain cells. In combination with reprogramming technology, human somatic cell-derived neural stem cells and their progeny can be used as a model for neurological diseases with improved accuracy. Further, human pluripotent stem cells offer attractive source for mechanistic, transplantation and drug screening approaches that provides new dimension to translate validated research findings into new regenerative therapies for neurodegenerative diseases. Other emerging features of stem cell research includes identification of transcription factors and morphogens essential for specific phenotype attributes and differentiation of therapeutically relevant neurons from human pluripotent stem cells. Thus, stem cell technology provides exciting platform for translational medicine aiming to develop reparative and regenerative therapeutic approaches for neurodegenerative disorders.

Picture taken from source:

http://biology.tutorvista.com/cell/stem-cells.html

(2) Brain Organoids

Brain organoids is a miniature, organ-like structures that mimic layered organization of the cells in the brain. Brain organoids has uncovered the mysteries of dementia, mental illness and other neurological disorders. Combination of induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell technology and three-dimensional culture techniques allows reprogramming of brain cells to neurons and generate brain organoids, which facilitate researchers to zoom in on the brain and connect dots from broken genes to malfunctioning cellular pathways to cell growth associated with brain development. Generating brain organoids from the brain cells obtained from patients and healthy individuals would provide neuroscientist a chance to look at brain development in three-dimensional context and test prospective therapies.

Picture taken from source

http://explorebiotech.com/can-mini-brains-help-unlock-human-brain-cells-mysteries/

(3) Genome editing

The advent of new genome editing method known as Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR) has been timed perfectly with the modern neuroscience research. CRISPR can be used to make specific changes to target region in the genome and has become instrumental in investigating disease mechanism in laboratory due to it low cost, greater precision and ease of use. During recent past, researchers have utilized gene sequencers to uncover genes that are essential for brain development and neurological diseases. Unlike other genome editing methods, CRISPR system can be used to make changes in any stretch of DNA that gives us clues to figure out if disruption of target genes can cause of neurological disease. Till date, neuroscientist have created more animal (insect, mouse, mammal) and cell models using CRISPR technology to study the effect of genetic changes on neural development. Thus, CRISPR technology is accelerating the pace of neuroscience research and enable target genetic interrogation in any organism and cell type, which opened the door for development of new model systems for studying neurological disorders.

Picture taken from source

https://www.technologynetworks.com/genomics/articles/crispr-emerging-applications-for-genome-editing-technology-288978

(4) Optogenetics

Optogenetic approaches have revolutionized the field of neuroscience and allowed characterization of individual neurons or whole neuronal network through activation or silencing specific regions in the brain. The optogenetic tools hold promise with the potential for modulating activity of brain circuits involved in neurological disorders. During recent years, neuroscientists have used this approach to characterize neural circuits associated with brain disorders using light sensitive proteins such as halorhodopsin and channelrhodopsin. An effort is currently being devoted to refine optogenetic techniques employing viruses to effectively deliver genes that encodes rhodopsin. Thus, optogenetic approaches offers great opportunities for basic neuroscience research and holds promise for rendering neurological therapeutic strategies in future.

Picture taken from source: http://www.lasercentury.com

(5) Synaptogenic biosensor

GRASP is a novel biosensor based technique that relies on the use of split GFP fragments (GFP1-10 and GFP11) that become fluorescent when reconstituted with each other. In GRASP, each fragment is fused to the extracellular domains for pre- and postsynaptic transmembrane proteins. When pre and postsynaptic neurons come into close proximity to form a synapse, split GFP reconstitutes its fluorescence’s and marks the location of synapse. Further improvement in this method uses split FPs of different colors to simultaneously label different types of synapses. This method allows effective visualization of synapses in living neurons and therefore can be used in mapping brain connectomes.

Picture taken from source:

https://www.quora.com/Will-it-be-possible-to-exchange-a-subunit-of-one-fluorescent-protein-GFP-with-another-CFP-so-that-the-GFP-becomes-CFP

(6) Transcriptome sequencing

Next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology is rapidly changing its ability to probe molecular basis of neuronal function. NGS can be used to effectively define complete molecular signatures of neurons by transcriptome analysis. RNA-seq has greater dynamic range, detects both abundant and less abundant transcripts, superior for gene network construction and extract genotype information. Further, single-nuclei RNA sequencing of activated neurons enables investigation of gene expression that can offer insight into molecular dynamics associated with different neuronal response. Thus, RNA-seq embraces the complexity of brain transcriptome and provides insight into brain-behavior-disease relationship.

Picture taken from source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RNA-Seq

A decade ago, that would have not been technologically possible. But in the recent past, neuroscience has been transformed by remarkable technologies that opened up doors to investigate brain function and develop new therapeutic approaches for neurological disorders.

International Behavioral Neuroscience Society (IBNS) News by Pushpanathan Muthuirulan (Guest Editor, Vol 20, Issue7 October 2016). Read this content from http://www.ibnsconnect.org/newsletter-vol20-7