Cui Lab

Research focus

ERC Consolidator Grant · 2025

Endogenous Redox-Photonic Signaling in Mammalian Neurons

Vision is enabled by photoreceptor proteins in the eye called opsins. In addition to visual opsins, mammals also possess three non-visual opsins, which are highly conserved and also expressed in extra-ocular tissues such as the brain. Recent studies in live mice have shown that these non-canonical opsins are both light-responsive and physiologically active. However, the poor penetration of visible light through hair, skin, bone, and tissue, raises intriguing questions about whether environmental light can conceivably activate opsins found in regions as dark as the inner brain of nocturnal mammals. I hypothesized that these deep-tissue opsins may be activated by an alternative, internal,…

From the public funding record at EU CORDIS. Describes the funded project, not the reviews below.