A key approach to understanding the brain is to observe the behavioral effects of turning on specific populations of neurons. One of the most popular approaches to controlling neuronal activity in ...

The colors in a flower patch appear completely different to a bear, a honeybee, a butterfly and humans. The ability to see these colors is generated by specific properties of opsins - light-sensitive ...

Researchers at Brown University and Cincinnati Children’s found that suppressing opsin 3 in the brain of mice makes them eat less, raising new questions about the mechanisms involved in regulating ...

Frogs have maintained a surprising diversity of light-sensing proteins over evolutionary time, according to a new study led by a Penn State researcher. Light-sensing proteins, called opsins, enable ...

Scientists discovered years ago that the hypothalamus - which helps to manage body temperature, hunger, sex drive, sleep and more - includes neurons that express the protein opsin 3 (OPN3). Far less ...