One of Light's many new uses

MIT neuroengineers' pulsing light silences overactive neurons, could lead to non-surgical treatment for epilepsy, Parkinson's

Scientists at the MIT Media Lab have invented a way to reversibly silence brain cells using pulses of yellow light.

Some epilepsy patients have implanted electrodes that periodically give their brains an electric jolt, acting as a defibrillator to shut down overactive neurons. This new research opens up the possibility of an optical implant that could do the same thing, using light instead of electricity.

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