Nobel Prize in medicine awarded to trio for technique that helps decode mysteries of the brain

The 2026 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine has been awarded to three scientists – Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel – for their work developing a technique to decode the inner workings of the brain.

The German duo of Hegemann and Nagel discovered a protein, known as channelrhodopsin, before American scientist Deisseroth “transformed the protein into a light-controlled switch for nerve cells,” the Nobel Committee said in a statement.

That work has “laid the foundation for a new era in neuroscience,” the committee added.

By using this method, known as optogenetics, researchers can illuminate neural circuits which govern “specific memories, feelings, and behaviors relevant for neurological and psychiatric disorders.”

“Optogenetics provides opportunities for mapping the brain in a way that we could once only dream of,” said Per Svenningsson, Chair of the Nobel Committee for Physiology or Medicine.