Alguns usos da optogenética

http://www.popsci.com/mice-optogenetics-killer-instinct-brain-hunting-predator
Citando:
"You start by genetically engineering mice to express an enzyme called Cre—only in the neurons that you want to study. Then you inject a virus into their brains that contains a light-sensitive protein, which can only be incorporated into the neurons that have the Cre enzyme. You end up with a very specific set of neurons that are activated when you insert a fiber optic light into the mouse’s brain. And if those neurons happen to control a physical process, like hunting or biting, the result looks a lot like mind control. You can use optogenetics to do other things, like implant false memories into a mouse’s brain or selectively erase them. It’s experiments like these that made optogenetics one of the breakthroughs of the decade in *Science * magazine."