"Designer Receptors Activated Only by Designer Drugs" (DREADDs) belong to a class of proteins called chemogenetic proteins. These engineered proteins allow scientists to control nerve cell activity in ambulatory animals.
In order to more fully understand how diseases arise in the brain, scientists must unravel the intricate way neurons relay messages (either chemical or electrical) along a complex web of nerve cells. One way is by using a tool called DREADDs, which stands for Designer Receptors Activated by Designer Drugs.