Let me start with the conventional definition of optogenetics: the sensitization of excitable cells to light, particularly neurons. This is done by introducing a gene from a microbe, typically an algae or bacteria, that is a light-sensitive protein. We introduce this through genetic engineering, most often to neurons in the brain. Neurons are intrinsically excitable, but they're not intrinsically sensitive to light, except for neurons in the retina. This allows you to use light to drive currents across the membrane of the cell, which drives excitation, such as action potentials in neurons. So the major power of optogenetics is to use light as an artificial exogenous stimulus to remotely control the activity of neurons with exquisite temporal and spatial precision, and, perhaps most importantly, genetic precision. This would be the conventional definition. As you get into it, there is a slightly more expansive definition that also includes using genetic tools to measure neural activity. But I would say most people use the term optogenetics to refer to the ability to control neural activity.
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