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Visual Neuroscience

Visual Neuroscience news articles cover science research into visual cortex, vision, visual disorders, blindness, brain processing of visual cues, facial recognition and research related to how eyes and brains function.

Featured Genetics Neuroscience Visual Neuroscience

·May 6, 2024·7 min read

CRISPR Trial Provides Hope for Inherited Blindness

A recent clinical trial, BRILLIANCE demonstrated the safety and efficacy of CRISPR gene editing in treating inherited blindness caused by mutations in the CEP290 gene. The study involved 14 participants who received a single injection of the CRISPR/Cas9-based medicine, EDIT-101, which showed measurable improvements in 11 participants' vision.

Featured Neuroscience Visual Neuroscience

·May 2, 2024·6 min read

Brainstem Plays Vital Role in Visual Attention

Researchers highlights the locus coeruleus (LC), a small brainstem region, as critical in enhancing visual sensory processing through its production of norepinephrine. In the study scientists used optogenetics to activate these specific neurons in non-human primates, significantly improving their performance in a visual attention task.

Featured Neuroscience Visual Neuroscience

·April 26, 2024·5 min read

Mice Fooled by Optical Illusions: New Insights into Brain Function

Mice are susceptible to a visual phenomenon known as neon color spreading, commonly seen as an optical illusion in humans. The study utilized both electrophysiology and optogenetics to explore how different levels of neurons contribute to the perception of brightness.

Featured Neuroscience Visual Neuroscience

·April 24, 2024·5 min read

How Sensory Experiences Shape Neurons

A new study introduces BARseq—a rapid, cost-effective method for mapping brain cells, revealing new insights into how our brains are structured at a cellular level. Researchers used BARseq to classify millions of neurons across multiple mouse brains, discovering unique 'cellular signatures' that define each brain region.

Featured Neuroscience Visual Neuroscience

·April 23, 2024·6 min read

AI Enhances Early Screening for Dry Eye Disease

Researchers used artificial intelligence (AI) to improve early screening and prognosis of Dry Eye Disease (DED), which affects up to 30% of the global population. The researchers developed an AI-driven approach that leverages images and personal risk factors to diagnose and manage DED effectively.

Featured Neuroscience Visual Neuroscience

·April 22, 2024·4 min read

Pupil Dilation Linked to Working Memory Capacity

Researchers discovered that pupil dilation can indicate levels of working memory. In a study, researchers observed that individuals whose pupils dilated more while performing memory tasks tended to have better working memory.

Featured Neurology Neuroscience Visual Neuroscience

·April 19, 2024·5 min read

Eye Tests Predict Parkinson’s Progression

Optical coherence tomography, commonly used in eye exams, can monitor neurodegeneration in Parkinson's disease patients by measuring the thickness of the retina. This method has revealed that retinal degeneration often precedes cognitive and motor decline, offering a potential early indicator of disease progression.

Featured Neuroscience Visual Neuroscience

·April 16, 2024·5 min read

Decoding the Rainbow: New Secrets of Color Perception

Researchers made significant progress in understanding color perception by identifying non-cardinal retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) in the human fovea. These cells may explain complex color perceptions beyond the traditional models established by the cardinal directions of color detection.

Featured Neuroscience Visual Neuroscience

·April 15, 2024·4 min read

Ever Wonder Why We Blink So Much?

A new study reveals the critical role of blinking in visual perception. Contrary to the common belief that blinking merely helps keep the eyes moist, the study found that blinking reshapes how visual information is processed by briefly altering the light patterns on the retina.

Featured Neuroscience Visual Neuroscience

·March 27, 2024·6 min read

Exploring Aphantasia: The Mind Without a Mental Picture

Researchers reviewed 50 studies to deepen our understanding aphantasia, a phenomenon where individuals can't visualize mentally. The research reveals aphantasia's diverse impact, from reduced autobiographical memory and face recognition to broader implications in music imagination and occupation choices, suggesting a spectrum rather than a binary condition.

Featured Neuroscience Visual Neuroscience

·March 26, 2024·5 min read

Unlocking the Brain’s Attention Network

Researchers have utilized depth electrodes in epilepsy patients to study exogenous attention, the involuntary shift of focus triggered by external stimuli. This unique approach, capturing neural activity across 1,400 brain regions, reveals how attention develops from visual processing to action response, involving a continuum of cortical networks.

Featured Neuroscience Visual Neuroscience

·March 22, 2024·4 min read

Devil in the Details: The Visual World of Prosopometamorphopsia

Researchers conducted a pioneering study on prosopometamorphopsia (PMO), a rare condition where individuals perceive facial features as distorted. The study details the unique case of a 58-year-old male who experiences facial distortions exclusively in person, not when viewing images on screens or paper, allowing researchers to create accurate visualizations of his perceptions.