Optogenetics lets researchers turn specific neurons on or off with light in C. elegans, a nematode worm with about 300 neurons. One example shows light-activated inhibitory channels halting the worm's movement almost instantly, while a second example from a lab at UMass Chan Medical School shows light activating channelrhodopsin in a pair of motor neurons (RIV) to trigger a specific leftward omega turn, demonstrating fine-grained control rather than just an on/off switch. The hosts frame this as a step toward mapping the worm's entire motor circuit and suggest similar granularity could eventually extend to larger, more complex species.
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One demonstration video was attributed to the GenLab at a research institute in Toronto (Tannenbaum Research Institute).
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The worm's small nervous system, only about 300 neurons, is cited as what makes full circuit mapping feasible.
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The RIV motor neurons specifically innervate the ventral neck muscle and are tied to the omega turn behavior.
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The hosts connect this worm research to a second paper, a 2025 Nature study from Trinity College Dublin on mammals, discussed next.
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