The Nobel-winning science of optogenetics: Explained

The story so far: The 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, announced on Monday (October 5, 2026) went jointly to Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegeman and Georg Nagel “for their discoveries concerning light-gated ion channels and optogenetics.” The prize amount of 12 million Swedish kronor, to be shared equally between the Laureates.

How the brain functions and pulls the strings to guide feelings, behaviour and bodily functions has long been a mystery. It was in the 20^th century, that researchers began to map areas of the brain to related functions, but the methods they used could not prove causal relationships. So, the image they developed of the brain was like a sketch map, full of question marks and unknowns, as the Nobel committee described it. Now all this is changing, thanks to revolutionary techniques including optogenetics.