The 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded to Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann, and Georg Nagel for their pioneering discoveries concerning light-gated ion channels and the development of optogenetics, the Nobel Assembly at Sweden’s Karolinska Institute announced on Monday.
The trio was recognised for creating a revolutionary technique that allows researchers to control the activity of specific cells using light, fundamentally transforming neuroscience and unlocking new methods to study complex brain and nervous system functions.
Illuminating Brain Function
German scientists Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel discovered channelrhodopsin, a unique light-sensitive protein. Their work demonstrated that introducing this protein into various cell types made them responsive to light stimulation.
Building on these findings, American scientist Karl Deisseroth introduced the gene for channelrhodopsin into rat nerve cells. By exposing the cells to blue light, he successfully triggered neural signals and later demonstrated that this light-activated switch could control specific nerve cells in the brains of living mice.
Transforming Modern Neuroscience
“Optogenetics makes it possible to switch on, or off, the activity of individual nerve cells in a living brain,” the Nobel Assembly noted in its citation. “This method is now being used in laboratories around the world to reveal the brain’s mysteries.”
The three laureates will share the prize sum of 12 million Swedish crowns ($1.2 million). Their breakthrough continues to pave the way for advancing treatments for psychiatric conditions, neurological disorders, and motor system disruptions.
