The other part of FLiCRE is responsible for freeing the protein under certain specific conditions, namely if the concentration of calcium is high and the cell is bathed in blue light. One part of FLiCRE attaches to the cell membrane and contains a protein that can enter the cell's nucleus and drive expression of whatever gene the researchers have selected. It is a really cool way to look at long-range brain activity connections.' How FLiCRE worksįLiCRE consists of two chains of molecular components that respond to the presence of blue light and calcium in a cell. A high calcium level indicates the cell has been activated, while researchers can control whether the cell is bathed in blue light, making it easier to regulate the timing of an experiment.įLiCRE works by infiltrating a cell through a harmless virus, injected by a scientist. A paper detailing the customizable tool was recently published in Cell.Ĭhristina Kim, PhD, a postdoctoral scholar in genetics at Stanford, described the project for a Stanford News article I wrote on the research: 'The beauty of FLiCRE is that we can pulse and activate neurons in one region and then record all of the connected downstream neurons. The researchers have successfully used FLiCRE in proof-of-concept experiments to both identify neurons linked to avoidant behavior in mice, and to reactivate those neurons, leading mice to act out those behaviors. Their work has evolved into FLiCRE (Fast Light and Calcium-Regulated Expression pronounced 'flicker'), a molecular probe that is designed to map how the brain thinks and remembers by tagging, recording and controlling functions of individual cells.

Soon after Alice Ting, PhD, arrived at Stanford in 2016, her lab began to pursue a fantastical idea: Tracking with extreme precision the system of neurons that underlie a thought or cognitive process.

Neuron in the brain