To get a crash course in a neurological research technique that uses light to manipulate brain cells, watch this video.

Optogenetics allows researchers to investigate real-time neural interactions involved in animal movement, memories, behavior, and even consciousness. It’s also proving useful in unraveling the pathology of conditions like depression, seizures, and anxiety.

“The problem is that a lot is going on and it’s tough to describe. You’re borrowing genes, putting them into cells, those cells are expressing those genes and doing complex things in reaction to light,” said neuroengineer Ed Boyden of MIT, who helped pioneer the technique 11 years ago. “So we made this video to lend a little clarity to what we do.”

MIT worked with the Sputnik Animation studio to create the video, pieces of which Boyden first debuted at a March 2011 TED conference. The full narrated version hasn’t been shown until now.

Video: MIT/Sputnik Animation/Ed Boyden et al.

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