The researchers are receiving the prize for their work on optogenetics, “a method that makes it possible to show how nerve cells shape memories, emotions and behavior in a living brain,” the Nobel Assembly writes.
Thomas Perlmann, secretary of the Nobel Committee, reached the laureates on Monday morning.
The reaction was joyful. They were surprised, and Karl Deisseroth, who is in California, was very tired, but he perked up quickly.
All three said the same thing: they were so happy to receive the award alongside the other two.
The technology took the research world by storm about 15 years ago because it makes it possible to see what functions different nerve cells actually perform.
German researchers Nagel and Hegemann discovered a protein in a single-celled alga. Hegemann asked how the tiny alga could swim toward a light source. The answer lay in a special protein. No matter which cell the protein was introduced into, it responded to light and triggered an electrical impulse.
Works on rodents
When the American Deisseroth introduced the gene for the algal protein into rodents, he managed to get it to work in the brains of living mice.
You can decide which neural circuits to turn on or off. It’s a phenomenal tool for really starting to understand how the brain works in depth.
Mapping the brain
With the help of these findings, researchers have also been able to map which neural circuits in the brain control certain memories, emotions and behaviors, the Nobel Assembly writes.
The field of research has, among other things, led to a better understanding of psychiatric conditions such as depression and schizophrenia, as well as neurological diseases.
Researchers are also conducting studies to try to restore vision in people affected by diseases that destroy the rods and cones in the eye. One study describes how a person who had been blind partially regained his sight with the help of the technology and a pair of special glasses.
No concerns
The ability to use technology to control the brain’s memories, emotions and behavior could lead to unpleasant results if it fell into the wrong hands. But Perlmann is not concerned.
It’s a method that requires inserting an optical fiber to illuminate certain parts of the brain. It’s not something you can do in secret.
In a lab, researchers have successfully woken sleeping mice using the technology. The question is: can it be used to wake sleeping teenagers?
In theory, yes, but inserting fibers like this into the brains of teenagers is a bit drastic, so I don’t think that will happen, says Thomas Perlmann.
Karl Deisseroth, born in 1971. Professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford University, USA.
Peter Hegemann, born in 1954. Professor of neuroscience at Humboldt University in Berlin, Germany.
Georg Nagel, born in 1953. Professor of molecular plant physiology at the University of Würzburg, Germany.
The three are awarded the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine “for their discoveries concerning light-gated ion channels and optogenetics.”
Optogenetics can be used to control brain activity in living animals. In the future, the discoveries could help researchers better understand how psychiatric illnesses such as depression, schizophrenia, psychosis and anorexia work, and eventually lead to better treatment.
