Optical read-out and modulation of peripheral nerve activity

Numerous clinical and research applications necessitate the ability to interface with peripheral nerve fibers to read and control relevant neural pathways. Visceral organ modulation and rehabilitative prosthesis are two areas which could benefit greatly from improved neural interfacing approaches. Therapeutic neural interfacing, or ‘bioelectronic medicine’, has potential to affect a broad range of disorders given that all the major organs of the viscera are neurally innervated. However, a better understanding of the neural pathways that underlie function and a means to precisely interface with these fibers are required. Existing peripheral nerve interfaces, consisting primarily of electrode-based designs, are unsuited for highly specific (individual axon) communication and/or are invasive to the tissue. Our laboratory has explored an optogenetic approach by which optically sensitive reporters and actuators are targeted to specific cell (axon) types. The nature of such an approach is laid out in this short perspective, along with associated technologies and challenges.