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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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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).

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.
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.

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.
Brain pathways for visual processing

Scientists discover anatomical changes in the brains of the newly sighted

Following cataract removal, some of the brain’s visual pathways seem to be more malleable than previously thought.
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).
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.
Researchers examining brain

Brain cells use a telephone trick to report what they see

A new study from Duke University finds that single neurons conveying visual information about two separate objects in sight do so by alternating signals about one or the other.