Controlling the active properties of excitable cells.

Molecular perturbations of neurons, including genetic knockout and transgenic approaches, have provided insight into the cellular processes underlying neuronal function and plasticity. A detailed understanding of how individual neurons participate in the circuitry that controls behavior, however, will require the ability to experimentally manipulate the active properties of neurons in vivo. Recent technologies have greatly advanced our experimental ability to modulate the active properties of neurons with spatial and temporal precision; technical advances have been applied to the investigation of a diverse array of neurobiological questions.