Stockholm: The 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded to Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel for their discoveries concerning light gated ion channels and optogenetics.
The three scientists were recognised for developing discoveries that have given researchers a powerful way to control selected nerve cells using light and study how the brain works.
Deisseroth, 54, is an American scientist at Stanford University. Hegemann, 71, is a German scientist at Humboldt University of Berlin, while Nagel, 73, is a German scientist associated with the University of WĂĽrzburg.
The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet announced the award in Stockholm on October 5. The three laureates will share prize money of 12 million Swedish kronor.
Their work has transformed neuroscience by allowing researchers to study the activity of specific nerve cells with a high level of precision. This has helped scientists investigate how different groups of nerve cells influence memory, emotions and behaviour.
The foundation of the work came from studies of a single celled green alga. Hegemann and Nagel investigated how the organism responds to light. Their research led to the discovery of channelrhodopsin, a light sensitive protein that allows ions to pass through a cell membrane when activated by light.
This discovery showed that light could be used to change the electrical activity of a cell. It provided the basis for a new way of controlling cells and eventually led to the development of optogenetics.
Deisseroth then helped bring the technique into neuroscience. He introduced the gene for channelrhodopsin into nerve cells, making them responsive to light. In 2005, Deisseroth and his colleagues showed that nerve cells could be activated with blue light after being given the gene.
The technique was later developed further to control nerve cells in the brains of living mice. This demonstrated that light could be used to manipulate selected nerve cells inside a living brain.
Optogenetics combines genetic methods with light to control selected nerve cells. Researchers can target particular cells and then use light to change their activity. This allows them to investigate whether specific neural circuits are responsible for particular actions or behaviours.
The technique has changed the way scientists study the brain. Instead of only observing which parts of the brain become active, researchers can manipulate selected nerve cells and examine the effects.
Optogenetics has been used to investigate brain processes linked to memory, emotions and behaviour. It has also helped researchers study neural circuits involved in neurological and psychiatric conditions.
Researchers are investigating potential medical applications of the technique. These include approaches aimed at restoring sight and research into whether light based methods could improve cochlear implants.
However, optogenetics remains primarily a research technique. Potential medical applications are still being studied and should not be described as established treatments for neurological or psychiatric diseases.
The award recognises the combined contribution of the three scientists. Hegemann and Nagel helped identify the light sensitive proteins that made the approach possible, while Deisseroth helped develop the method into a powerful tool for controlling nerve cells and studying the brain.
The Medicine Nobel opened the 2026 Nobel announcements, with prizes in other fields to follow during the week. The award highlights how discoveries made through basic biological research can lead to new methods for understanding the nervous system and the complex activity of the brain.