Current Review of Optical Neural Interfaces for Clinical Applications

Neural interfaces, which enable the recording and stimulation of living neurons, have emerged as valuable tools in understanding the brain in health and disease, as well as serving as neural prostheses. While neural interfaces are typically based on electrical transduction, alternative energy modalities have been explored to create safe and effective approaches. Among these approaches, optical methods of linking neurons to the outside world have gained attention because light offers high spatial selectivity and decreased invasiveness. Here, we review the current state-of-art of optical neural interfaces and their clinical applications. Optical neural interfaces can be categorized into optical control and optical readout, each of which can be divided into intrinsic and extrinsic approaches. We discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each of these methods and offer a comparison of relative performance. Future directions, including their clinical opportunities, are discussed with regard to the optical properties of biological tissue.

Automated summary

Neural interfaces, crucial in understanding the brain and serving as neural prostheses, have traditionally been based on electrical transduction. However, optical methods have gained attention for their high spatial selectivity and decreased invasiveness in connecting neurons to the external world. This review discusses the current state-of-art of optical neural interfaces, dividing them into optical control and optical readout categories and comparing their relative performance.