Three scientists were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine on Monday for important research on the nervous system and contributions to understanding how the activity of individual nerve cells in the brain can be switched on or off.
The announcement of the 2026 Nobel Prizes began with the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. The award was jointly given to American scientist Karl Deisseroth and German scientists Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel for their important research on light-gated ion channels and optogenetics.
According to the Nobel Assembly, the scientists’ discoveries paved the way for the development of a technique that enables the activity of individual nerve cells in a living brain to be switched on or off using light. The technique is now used in neuroscience laboratories around the world to study the complex functioning of the brain.
The human brain contains billions of nerve cells, or neurons. These cells communicate with one another through electrical and chemical signals. Scientists have long faced the challenge of controlling the activity of a specific neuron without affecting other cells. Optogenetics brought a significant change to this field.
The technique uses light-sensitive proteins to make certain cells responsive to light. Scientists can then use specific light signals to control the activity of those cells.
The key advantage is that researchers can study the role of a particular type of nerve cell in the brain with greater precision. This has created new possibilities for studying behaviour, emotions, memory and neurological processes.
Karl Deisseroth is a scientist associated with Stanford University in the United States. His research played an important role in developing optogenetics into a laboratory technique that enables scientists to control neuronal activity in a living brain.
The technique has made it easier to understand how changes in the activity of a specific neuron affect behaviour or other brain processes. As a result, optogenetics has become an important tool in modern neuroscience.
Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel are scientists from Germany. Hegemann is associated with Humboldt University of Berlin, while Nagel works at the University of Würzburg. Both played an important role in the discovery and study of light-sensitive ion channels, which subsequently strengthened the foundation for the development of optogenetics.
Light-gated ion channels are proteins whose activity can be affected by light. They can be used to control the movement of ions across a cell membrane. The discovery proved important for controlling neuronal activity.
