Shining a Light on the Brain: Guiding Animal Behavior

What if you could control the brain with light? Join Ainul Huda, a neuroscience graduate student at Virginia Tech, for a hands-on session exploring optogenetics, a powerful technique that uses light to activate specific neurons. At this illuminating event, you'll use safe red lasers to trigger real-time behaviors in fruit flies, like stopping, spinning, or walking backward. Come shine a light on how scientists link brain activity to behavior with precision.