# Optimizing Optogenetics for Cell-type-specific Control in Freely-moving Primates

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA · 2022 · $647,050

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
Optogenetics is a revolutionary technique in neuroscience. By combining light-sensitive proteins with intracranial
light delivery, optogenetics offers unprecedented, cell-type specific control over neuronal activity. The technique
has become the dominant approach for studying neural circuits in small animal models such as mice and flies.
Unfortunately, optogenetics has so far failed to have a major impact on research using larger animals more
similar to humans, such as macaque monkeys, undermining its translational potential for human patients. We
conducted a world-wide Open Science initiative to identify the challenges remaining to be solved in primate
optogenetics (Tremblay et al. Neuron, 2020). We identified the sheer size of the macaque monkey brain, which
is 200 times bigger than the mouse brain, as well as its immune system, as the main challenges for both gene
expression and light delivery. Our multidisciplinary team of investigators will overcome these obstacles by
developing and optimizing three new technologies: 1) large-scale, safe delivery of ultra-sensitive opsins using
gene therapy techniques; 2) chronically-implantable, ultra-thin, flexible, biocompatible LED arrays; and 3)
implantable, battery-powered LED drivers for wireless control during unrestrained, naturalistic behavior. This
approach will allow precise control of large volumes of the primate brain with cell-type specificity and millisecond
resolution in monkeys free of physical restraint, thus permitting causal dissection of the neural circuits mediating
natural behavior relevant for understanding and treating human brain disorders. This technology platform could
be directly applied as a cell-type-specific optogenetic therapy for humans suffering from neurological disorders
that affect specific neural populations, such as focal epilepsy.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10445618
- **Project number:** 1R01NS123054-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
- **Principal Investigator:** MICHAEL L PLATT
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $647,050
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-05-15 → 2027-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10445618

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10445618, Optimizing Optogenetics for Cell-type-specific Control in Freely-moving Primates (1R01NS123054-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10445618. Licensed CC0.

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