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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.

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197 items

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

August 17, 2023

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.

Scientists discover external protein network can help stabilize neural connections

August 16, 2023

The Noelin family of secreted proteins bind to the external portion of AMPA glutamate receptors and stabilize them on the neuronal cellular membrane, a process necessary for transmission of full-strength signals between neurons.
Long distance connections in the brain.

Penn Medicine neuroscientists identify brain mechanism that drives focus despite distractions

August 9, 2023

“Visual-movement” neurons in the front of your brain can help you stay focused in the presence of visual distractions, according to a new study from neuroscientists in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.
Fruit fly eye.

How flies develop sight: Scientists use single-cell sequencing to identify cell types in the visual system

August 1, 2023

New York University researchers have discovered new cell types in the visual system of flies, made possible by their creation of a tool that finds and labels neurons during development.
Decorative

Study uncovers novel synaptic intricacies inside the retina

June 21, 2023

A Northwestern Medicine study has uncovered novel cellular mechanisms within the retina, findings that could help advance the development of targeted therapeutics for diseases and conditions affecting vision.
Axon terminals of color photoreceptors

Do people and monkeys see colors the same way?

April 28, 2023

Study from University of Washington shows some nerve cell circuits for color vision are uniquely human.
Views of a patio from a walking, crawling, or flying perspective, and a collection of scrambled views.

Visually navigating on foot uses unique brain region

March 15, 2023

Using vision to efficiently move through an area by foot uses a unique region of the brain’s cortex, according to a small study funded by the National Eye Institute (NEI).
Older woman's right eye

New insights: Eye damage in Alzheimer’s disease patients

March 3, 2023

Cedars-Sinai investigators map changes to the retina that correspond to brain changes in the early stage of Alzheimer's disease, opening a path to earlier diagnosis.
Synapses between neurons in thalamus and cortex.

Sparse, small, but diverse neural connections help make perception reliable, efficient

February 2, 2023

In a study from the Picower Institute at MIT, the first detailed mapping and modeling of thalamus inputs onto visual cortex neurons show brain leverages “wisdom of the crowd” to process sensory information.
Microscopy image of red fluorescent retinal neurons

Lab-grown retinal eye cells make successful connections, open door for clinical trials to treat blindness

January 4, 2023

Retinal cells grown from stem cells can reach out and connect with neighbors, according to a new study, completing a “handshake” that may show the cells are ready for trials in humans with degenerative eye disorders.