The 2026 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine has been awarded to three scientists – Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel – for their work developing a technique to decode the inner workings of the brain.

This method – known as optogenetics – acts as a “light-sensitive switch,” allowing scientists to “map which cells are responsible for which function” in the brain, said Anna Wedell, a member of the Nobel Prize committee, which announced the prestigious honor in Sweden on Monday.

German researchers Hegemann, 71, and Nagel, 73, discovered a protein in algae, known as channelrhodopsin, before American scientist Deisseroth, 54, “transformed the protein into a light-controlled switch for nerve cells,” the committee said in a statement. That work has “laid the foundation for a new era in neuroscience,” the committee added.

By using this method, researchers can identify and even control the neural circuits that govern “specific memories, feelings, and behaviors relevant for neurological and psychiatric disorders.”

All three laureates were “very surprised” when they learned of their prize shortly before the public announcement, said the committee’s secretary-general Thomas Perlmann.

“Karl Deisseroth was very tired when he answered, he was definitely asleep, but he woke up … All three said the same thing, that they thought it was absolutely wonderful to receive the prize with the other two,” Perlmann noted when announcing the prize.

The award highlights the “profound impact of a field that has fundamentally changed how scientists understand the brain and nervous system,” said David Pendlebury, head of research analysis at Clarivate’s Institute for Scientific Information, in a statement.

“The Nobel Committee’s recognition underscores the extraordinary influence of this work, which has transformed neuroscience by enabling researchers to use light to precisely control and study neural activity,” Pendlebury added.

‘A new era in neuroscience’

The discovery began with Hegemann’s curiosity about the behavior of single-celled algae known as Chlamydomonas, which are able to swim towards a light source. In the early 2000s, he and Nagel discovered channelrhodopsin, a protein found on the surface of Chlamydomonas that is unusually both light-sensitive and generates electrical impulses. Regardless of which cell they put the protein in, those cells became light sensitive.

Deisseroth, who worked in a psychiatric clinic before becoming a neurosurgeon, built on their discovery by introducing the gene that codes the protein into the nerve cells of rats. By illuminating the nerve cells, he was able around 2007 to control the movement of mouse whiskers.

The work marked the infancy of the field of optogenetics, which now means that researchers can understand which nerve cells in the brain control different functions. For example, the Nobel committee said scientists have since identified neural circuits that govern pain, social behaviors, thirst, food consumption, reward and attention.

Finding a way to learn about the role of specific brain regions in mental functions “transformed how we study malfunctioning circuits in mental disorders,” said Andrea Benucci, a professor in biology and experimental psychology at Queen Mary University of London, in an email.

“The ability to activate or silence neurons in the brain using laser light has opened the door to unprecedented precision,” Benucci told CNN.

The hope is optogenetics will lead to new medical treatments as well as a deeper understanding of psychiatric and neurological disorders such as depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease.

Researchers in optogenetics are attempting to restore vision in people who have become blind due to retinitis pigmentosa, a disease that destroys the eye’s rods and cones.

“When they inserted a channelrhodopsin-like protein in the retina of a blind person, the person regained some vision. Using special glasses emitting light, the person was able to discern and grasp objects on a table,” according to a release from the Nobel committee.

Another area of research seeks to harness optogenetics to improve cochlear implants for hearing loss.

The three laureates will equally split the 12 million Swedish krona ($1,200,000) prize pot. Four more Nobel Prizes – physics, chemistry, literature and peace – will be awarded later this week, before the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Science is awarded next Monday. (CNN)

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