n a mere half-decade, the use of light to stimulate the brain has moved from basic science to the frontiers of bioengineering. By inserting into brain cells a light-sensitive protein originally found in swamp algae, engineers and scientists have begun to manipulate neurons with a dexterity that could soon vastly outstrip the capabilities of today’s electrical brain stimulation methods. This month, Patrick Degenaarreported early progress toward a non-invasive prosthetic retina that uses light to force retinal ganglion cells to fire on command, presented at the IEEEBiomedical Circuits and Systems conference.
Chemical Transmitters Carry the Signal Across Synapses & Neuromuscular Junctions
A contact between 2 nerves is called a synapse
At the synapse there is a break in electrical transmission (the action potential cannot cross)- instead chemicals are released that carry the signal to the next nerve
The release of chemical transmitters at nerve endings was first shown by Otto Loewi in the frog heart
A neuromuscular junction (NMJ) is a contact between a nerve and a muscle- it is like a synapse, the action potential stops and the signal is carried by a chemical
