Optogenetic Control of Heart Rhythm: Lightly Guiding the Cardiac Pace

It is well appreciated that, differently from skeletal muscles, the heart contracts independently from neurogenic inputs. However, the speed and force of heartbeats are finely modulated during stresses, emotions, and daily activities, by the autonomic neurons (both parasympathetic and sympathetic) which highly innervate the myocardium. Despite this aspect of cardiac physiology has been known for long, research has only recently shed light on the biophysical mechanisms underlying the meticulous adaptation of heart activity to the needs of the organism. A conceptual advancement in this regard has come from the use of optogenetics, a revolutionary methodology which allows to control the activity of a given excitable cell type, with high specificity, temporal and spatial resolution, within intact tissues and organisms. The method, widely affirmed in the field of neuroscience, has more recently been exploited also in research on heart physiology and pathology, including the study of the mechanisms regulating heart rhythm. The last point is the object of this book chapter which, starting from the description of the physiology of heart rhythm automaticity and the neurogenic modulation of heart rate, makes an excursus on the theoretical basis of such biotechnology (with its advantages and limitations), and presents a series of examples in cardiac and neuro-cardiac optogenetics.