The Nobel Prize in medicine was awarded Monday to three scientists who created a tool using light to help unravel how the brain works.

Their work was lauded “for discoveries leading to optogenetics, which makes it possible to switch on, or off, the activity of individual nerve cells in a living brain.”

The trio won the award for their discoveries concerning light-gated ion channels and optogenetics.

The trio won the award for their discoveries concerning light-gated ion channels and optogenetics. This neurobiology tool has provided new insights into how the brain processes memory, feelings, and behavior.

Karl Deisseroth, 54, Peter Hegemann, 71, and Georg Nagel, 73, have carried out research into light-gated ion channels and optogenetics. They are based at universities in Germany and the United States.

STOCKHOLM (AP) — The Nobel Prize in medicine was awarded Monday to three scientists working on the mechanisms the brain uses to switch on, or off, the activity of individual nerve cells. Karl Deissero...

The Nobel Prize in medicine has been awarded who created a tool using light to help unravel how the brain works.