A team of scientists from Harvard University (USA) has managed to control the behavior of a small transparent earthworm by manipulating the neurons of its tiny brain. The results, which are published in the journalNature, represent an advance in the understanding of how the brain works.
The scientists chose for their testsCaenorhabditis elegans, a flat, transparent worm whose nervous system onlyhas 302 neurons. “If we can understand a relatively simple nervous system to the point of fully controlling it, it means that we have the potential to understand more complex systems,” said Sharad Ramanathan, director of the research.
Using genetic tools, the researchers obtained modified worms whose neurons emitted fluorescent light, allowing them to track their activity during experiments. On the other hand, they altered their genes so that neurons became more photosensitive andcould be activated by light pulses.
Using very precise laser technology, Ramanathan’s team was able to activate neurons in isolation and identify their functions. As a result, they used the system to ‘trick’ the worm’s brain into thinking there was food nearby. This caused the animaltravel in a straight line directly to the place where he thought the imaginary food was. “The results give us a good framework to understand neural circuits, how to manipulate them and what patterns of activity to reproduce in them”, says the researcher. “We want to understand the brain of this animal, which only has a few hundred neurons, and turn it into a kind of video game in which we can completely control its behavior.”
