Evidence map›Paper›PMID 28772120›Full record

ReviewNeuron2017

Silencing Neurons: Tools, Applications, and Experimental Constraints.

J Simon Wiegert, Mathias Mahn, Matthias Prigge, Yoav Printz, Ofer Yizhar

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Neuron, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 180 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
180citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

180 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Optogenetic fMRI for Brain-Wide Circuit Analysis of Sensory Processing.International journal of molecular sciences · 2022
    Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Recovery from disorders of consciousness: Lesions and GABAergic modulation in a biologically inspired spiking neural network.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026
    Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Edinger-Westphal Neurons Contribute to Emergence from Desflurane and Sevoflurane Anesthesia in Mice.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2026
    Article
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Stabilized Ion Selectivity Corrects Activation Drift in Kalium Channelrhodopsins.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026
    Article
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Review
  18. Interhemispheric resting-state functional connectivity correlates with spontaneous neural interactions.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025
    Article
  19. Role of Hypothalamic CRH Neurons in Regulating the Impact of Stress on Memory and Sleep.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2025
    Article
  20. Article

120 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

J Simon WiegertResearch Group Synaptic Wiring and Information Processing, Center for Molecular Neurobiology Hamburg, Falkenried 94, 20251 Hamburg, Germany.
Mathias MahnDepartment of Neurobiology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel.
Matthias PriggeDepartment of Neurobiology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel.
Yoav PrintzDepartment of Neurobiology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel.
Ofer YizharDepartment of Neurobiology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel. Electronic address: ofer.yizhar@weizmann.ac.il.

Funding

European Research Council 337637European Research Council 714762
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Reversible silencing of neuronal activity is a powerful approach for isolating the roles of specific neuronal populations in circuit dynamics and behavior. In contrast with neuronal excitation, for which the majority of studies have used a limited number of optogenetic and chemogenetic tools, the number of genetically encoded tools used for inhibition of neuronal activity has vastly expanded. Silencing strategies vary widely in their mechanism of action and in their spatial and temporal scales. Although such manipulations are commonly applied, the design and interpretation of neuronal silencing experiments present unique challenges, both technically and conceptually. Here, we review the most commonly used tools for silencing neuronal activity and provide an in-depth analysis of their mechanism of action and utility for particular experimental applications. We further discuss the considerations that need to be given to experimental design, analysis, and interpretation of collected data. Finally, we discuss future directions for the development of new silencing approaches in neuroscience.

Indexed as

LightNeurosciencesOptogeneticsAction PotentialsAnimalsBrainHumansNeuronsRhodopsinRhodopsinarchaerhodopsinchannelrhodopsinchemogeneticshalorhodopsinlight-activated G-protein-coupled receptorslight-gated anion channelrhodopsinsneuronal silencingoptogeneticssynaptic transmission

Identifiers

PMID28772120
PMCPMC5830081

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.