Here, a procedure to selectively activate a neuronal protein with a short pulse of light by genetically encoding a photo-reactive unnatural amino acid into a target neuronal protein expressed in neurons in culture or in vivo is presented.
Kang, J., Kawaguchi, D., Wang, L. Optical Control of a Neuronal Protein Using a Genetically Encoded Unnatural Amino Acid in Neurons. J. Vis. Exp. (109), e53818, doi:10.3791/53818 (2016).