SciTechDaily : Researchers in optics and brain and cognitive science are investigating whether neurons can transmit light in a manner similar to fiber-optic communication channels.

Neurons, specialized cells in the brain and spinal cord that form the central nervous system, are known to communicate through electrical impulses. But scientists have found hints that neurons might also transmit light, a discovery that could significantly reshape our understanding of how the nervous system functions.

Researchers at the University of Rochester have launched a groundbreaking study to investigate whether living neurons can conduct light through their axons, the elongated, fiber-like extensions that resemble optical fibers. The project is supported by a three-year, $1.5 million grant from the John Templeton Foundation.

“There are scientific papers offering indications that light transport could happen in neuron axons, but there’s still not clear experimental evidence,” says the principal investigator, Pablo Postigo, a professor at Rochester’s Institute of Optics. “Scientists have shown that there is ultra-weak photon emission in the brain, but no one understands why the light is there.”