Noninvasive, ultrasound-mediated viral delivery of genes for optogenetic study of brain function

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Optogenetics - genetically modifying cells to make them light-sensitive, in order to read and write signals into the brain - has revolutionised neuroscience. The ability to imprint particular patterns of neural activity into the brain, and to observe signalling in networks of brain cells during behaviour, is already bringing substantial new understanding of topics such as memory, perception and movement. In the longer term, it also offers us new ways to interface with the brain, to repair or enhance brain function. However, at the moment, the use of optogenetic techniques requires a highly invasive procedure: direct injection of viral vectors into the nervous system. In this project, we will develop and optimise a technology which promises to replace this intracerebral injection with a much less invasive approach: intravenous injection of the vector, followed by delivery of the genes across the blood-brain barrier by using specially tailored sequences of fast ultrasound pulses. If successful, this will mean that many neuroscience experiments that currently require surgical intervention will be able to be carried out almost entirely non-invasively. It will also result in new neuroscience techniques being much more translatable to human studies, as ultrasound can be safely carried out in human subjects.