Skip to content

NEI Research News

Thanks to the work of NEI scientists and grantees, we’re constantly learning new information about the causes and treatment of vision disorders. Get the latest updates about their work — along with other news about NEI.

Source
206 items

Study reveals shared blueprint in brain development across different functional areas

In a new study, researchers from the University of Minnesota Medical School investigated brain development to understand how different areas of the brain become specialized in handling information such as vision, sound, touch and planning.

Retinal photoreceptors use dual pathways to tell brain ‘I’ve seen the light!’

Neuroscientists at Johns Hopkins Medicine have shown that intrinsically-photosensitive retinal ganglion cells use two different pathways at the same time to transmit electrical “vision” signals to the brain.

Study identifies "visual system" protein for circadian rhythm stability

Scientists have identified a protein in the visual system of mice that appears to be key for stabilizing the body’s circadian rhythms by buffering the brain’s response to light.
Illustration of retinal cell types, including midget cells.

Cell types in the eye have ancient evolutionary origins

In a comparative analysis across animals of the many cell types in the retina, researchers concluded that most cell types have an ancient evolutionary history.

Scientists unveil first complete cellular map of adult mouse brain

In a set of 10 papers in Nature, a network of researchers unveiled an atlas cataloging the location and type of every cell in the adult mouse brain.

Berkeley scientists discover retinal cells that help stabilize our world view

The discovery will enable researchers to better understand eye movement disorders that cause significant visual impairment.
Kang, Talluri and Nienborg

Separating movement from sight when studying the brain’s visual cortex

In primates, activity in the visual cortex—a part of the brain that processes signals from the eyes—is largely unaffected by the body’s own movements, according to a new study from scientists at the National Eye Institute (NEI).

UConn health researchers find that youthful proteins help nerves regrow

Ribosomal protein genes that are found at low levels in adult nerve cells may be very important to axon regeneration.

Resolving a seeming contradiction, study advances understanding of visual recognition memory

Scientists have invested decades in piecing together how our vision is so good at recognizing what’s familiar. A new study overcomes an apparent discrepancy in data to reveal a new insight into how it works.

More than meets the eye: New research shows how the visual system contributes to memory

A team of researchers from NYU has demonstrated that the key to understanding working memory relies not only on what one is storing in memory, but also why.