STOCKHOLM: The Nobel Medicine Prize was awarded on Monday to US psychiatrist and neurologist Karl Deisseroth and his German colleagues Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel for their work in the field of optogenetics.
The field helps researchers understand how specific cell types contribute to behaviours like learning, fear, addiction and movement, and may one day lead to treatments for neurological and sensory disorders such as Parkinson's disease and epilepsy.
"Using optogenetics, researchers have been able to reveal neural circuits governing specific memories, feelings, and behaviours relevant for neurological and psychiatric disorders," the Nobel Assembly said.
