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visual neuroscience

Featured Neuroscience Visual Neuroscience

·May 12, 2023·6 min read

Revolutionary Sensor Mimics Human Eye for Vivid Imagery

Researchers have created a device that emulates the human eye's ability to see color by using narrowband perovskite photodetectors and a neuromorphic algorithm. The photodetectors, sensitive to red, green, and blue light, mimic our cone cells, while the neuromorphic algorithm simulates our neural network to process information into high-quality images.

Featured Neuroscience Visual Neuroscience

·May 9, 2023·4 min read

Reality Blur: How Our Eyes Fool Us Into Misjudging Size

In a fascinating twist of perception, a recent study reveals that our eyes can trick our brain into misjudging the size of objects around us. By cleverly blurring parts of images, researchers demonstrated how participants misperceived full-scale railway scenes as smaller than their model counterparts. This surprising finding not only sheds light on the flexibility and occasional flaws of our visual system, but it also hints at profound implications for everyday situations, from driving to criminal justice. The bottom line? Size matters, but our eyes might not always get it right.

Featured Neuroscience Visual Neuroscience

·May 8, 2023·5 min read

Eye-Opening Drug Discovery May Help Treat Age-Related Macular Degeneration

350 million people worldwide are believed to suffer from blinding diseases including age-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy. Researchers have discovered a small class of drugs, dubbed SREDs, that have the potential to treat a range of blinding diseases.

Featured Neuroscience Visual Neuroscience

·May 8, 2023·5 min read

High-Resolution Image of the Human Retina Reveals Stunning Details

Researchers developed a new imaging technique to visualize several dozen proteins in a thin tissue section at high resolution using fluorescence microscopy.

Featured Genetics Neuroscience

·May 6, 2023·4 min read

Breaking the Darkness: Reactivating Dormant Cells in the Retina Brings New Hope for Vision Regeneration

Researchers discovered a way to reactivate dormant cells in the retina of mice to restore vision, without the need for transplantation. The team discovered dormant glial cells can be transformed into cells sharing properties with cone photoreceptors, which enable color perception, reading and driving. The approach, which uses two genes to transform Müller cells into retinal neurons, could offer new hope for developing regenerative therapies to replace lost cells in retinal degeneration.

Featured Neuroscience Visual Neuroscience

·May 1, 2023·4 min read

Cracking the Code of VR Sickness: Why Some Experience Motion Sickness While Gaming and Others Don’t

The way our senses adjust while playing virtual reality (VR) games affects the severity of cybersickness experienced. Researchers measured how participants perceived the orientation of vertical lines before and after playing two VR games, one high-intensity, and one low-intensity. They found that those who experienced less sickness were more likely to have the largest change in the subjective visual vertical following exposure to VR. The findings could be useful for VR designers and developers in creating more comfortable and enjoyable experiences.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·April 29, 2023·4 min read

Schizophrenia Identified in 60 Seconds via Visual Fixation

Researchers have identified spatial and temporal abnormalities in spontaneous fixational saccades as a potential biomarker for cognitive and positive symptoms in schizophrenia. Researchers combined patient data of fixational eye movement recorded over 60 seconds with machine learning technology, which was able to determine schizophrenia with 85% accuracy. This discovery suggests that fixational saccades could serve as an easily obtainable complementary diagnostic tool for the condition.

Featured Neuroscience

·April 27, 2023·7 min read

Artificial Intelligence Identifies Infants at Risk of Blinding Disease

Researchers have developed a deep learning AI tool that can automate the diagnostics of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), a leading cause of childhood blindness. The tool was found to be as effective as senior pediatric ophthalmologists in discriminating normal retinal images from those with ROP that could lead to blindness, and the researchers hope it will improve access to care in underserved areas and prevent blindness in thousands of newborns worldwide.

Featured Genetics Neuroscience Visual Neuroscience

·April 26, 2023·3 min read

Gene Therapy for Dogs With Inherited Blinding Eye Disease Set for Human Trials

A groundbreaking gene therapy proven successful in treating an inherited, blinding eye disease in dogs is now poised for clinical trials in humans with the rare condition retinitis pigmentosa. The therapy, which halts vision loss by introducing a normal copy of the CNGB1 gene, could potentially benefit around 2 million people affected worldwide.

Featured Genetics Neurology Neuroscience

·April 20, 2023·5 min read

Engineered Cells Offer Promise for Treating ALS and Blinding Diseases

Engineered stem cells may lead to personalized treatments for a range of neurological and visual disorders, a new study reports. Transplanting engineered induced pluripotent stem cells into the eyes of rodents with retinal degeneration led to the protection of cells in the eyes that support vision. In ALS models, transplanting cells into the spinal cord protected movement controlling cells. The engineered cells also created astrocytes and did not result in tumor formation.

Featured Genetics Neuroscience Visual Neuroscience

·April 14, 2023·4 min read

Stem Cell Therapy Could Restore Vision to Those With Macular Degeneration and Other Blinding Eye Diseases

A new method enables the production of photoreceptor progenitor cells that resemble embryonic cells. These cells can be transplanted and restore retinal function, and ultimately recovery of vision for those with blinding diseases including age-related macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa.

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles Visual Neuroscience

·April 8, 2023·5 min read

How the Brain Slows Down When We Focus Our Gaze

A new study reveals that the brain can switch between slow and fast integration of information, allowing it to modulate the timescales on which it operates. The study also provides insight into how the structure of neural networks determines the speed at which information is integrated, which may have implications for future research on brain function and cognitive processes.