Thermogenetics appeared recently as an evolutionary advance in methods of optical stimulation of nerve cells and uses focused light to activate light-sensitive cation channels in the neuron membrane. Light activation and opening of light-sensitive channels, which can be expressed genetically in any type of neuron, induces neuron membrane depolarization and a resultant action potential. In contrast to classical methods of optogenetics, which use the visible spectrum, thermogenetics uses channels sensitive to warming. This provides the opportunity for additional activation of these channels not only using IR light, but also other methods of warming nervous tissue, such as ultrasound or microwave radiation. The penetrability of living tissue to stimulation with IR radiation is an order of ma gnitude greater than that for visible spectrum radiation, which allows thermogenetics methods to be used in vivo without invasive surgical methods to "clear the way" for optogenetic stimulation. On the other hand, the thermal nature of the stimulation imposes additional limits on use of the method, as heating must be sufficiently gentle so as not to induce heat shock at the cellular level, and the threshold of activation must be sufficiently high for channel opening not to occur spontaneously at normal physiological temperatures.
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