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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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Scientists discover external protein network can help stabilize neural connections

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

“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

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.

Study uncovers novel synaptic intricacies inside the retina

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?

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

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

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

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

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.
Microelectrode array and 2-photon microscope.

Human brain organoids implanted into mouse cortex respond to visual stimuli for first time

A team of engineers and neuroscientists has demonstrated for the first time that human brain organoids implanted in mice have established functional connectivity to the animals’ cortex and responded to external sensory stimuli.