Researchers 'Reprogram' Network of Brain Cells with Thin Beam of Light

This research from Yuste's lab is really refreshing to me and probably more appealing to the HN audience than a lot of other neuroscience research. The main reason is that it focuses on how the brain carries out information processing and tests predictions made by theoretical and mathematical models of neuroscience proposed ages ago, e.g. Hebbian cell assemblies, attractor networks (Grossberg, Amari, Hopfield, et al.). And of course, there's a feedback loop here that further informs these theoretical models. I believe Numenta uses some of these principals in their models.

“I always thought the brain was mostly hard-wired,” said the study’s senior author, Dr. Rafael Yuste, a neuroscience professor at Columbia University. “But then I saw the results and said ‘Holy moly, this whole thing is plastic.’ We’re dealing with a plastic computer that’s constantly learning and changing.”

Is this quote being taken out of context or do many neuroscience researchers really think the brain is some sort of static thing? Basic life experience would seem to tell me that this isn't the case. I'm assuming they just mean they haven't been able to observe this reprogramming ability, or do they really think the brain is some sort of immutable object?

Even after several years of studying molecular biology, my mind is still blown by something like "They injected the mouse with a virus containing light-sensitive proteins engineered to reach specific brain cells." Just think of how many people worked hard (and for how many years!) to make this possible.

Maybe I'm tired but where is the link to the study? It's their own PR department!

The military is already using it. https://hatmer.github.io/assets/documents/Document.pdf