Vikaas Sohal’s Research makes NIMH Top Ten Research Advances of 2012
Dr. Vikaas Sohal, IMHRO Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at UCSF, published a paper in 2012 titled Insights into cortical oscillations arising from optogenetic studies, and this paper has earned the notice of the Director of the NIMH, Dr. Thomas Insel. Citing it in his list of the “Top Ten Research Advances of 2012”, Dr. Insel says “Using optogenetics, which can turn activity on and off with light, scientists [Dr. Sohal and his mentor Karl Deisseroth are cited] were able to manipulate gamma oscillations, the class of oscillations thought to be most relevant for schizophrenia.” Indeed Dr. Sohal has learned much from such manipulations about how the electrical rhythms of brain regions can get “out of sync” to lead to the symptoms of schizophrenia and other psychiatric disorders.
Read Dr. Insel’s blog post, “Top Ten Research Advances of 2012”