Brain Circuits that Control Drinking

摘要

Neuroscience is in the midst of a major discovery phase. Scientists, in collaboration with neural engineers, have developed an extensive array of genetically-engineered tools that can probe the brain's secrets in much finer detail than previously imagined. Examples include optogenetics, which can rapidly switch nerves on or off by shining a laser light; designer receptors that can turn nerves on or off for several hours by injecting a corresponding purpose-built drug; and calcium imaging, which can pinpoint actively firing nerves by illuminating them with bright, fluorescent colours. Scientists are using these techniques to construct a detailed map of the brain circuits underlying our most personal inner-workings: how we think, feel and behave.