About our work
While the common assumption is we see with our eyes, it is more accurate to say we see with the complex networks of neurons that make up our visual brain (including neurons in our retinas). Accordingly, low vision occurs with damage to retina or damage to downstream visual brain structures such as the visual thalamus and visual cortex. We have a good understanding of the general computations performed in retina, thalamus, and much of visual cortex. But we lack a detailed understanding of the unique computations performed by thousands of neuronal circuits, micro-networks within and between visual brain areas, that together subserve visual perception. This fine-grained, neuronal-level understanding is necessary to develop effective vision restoration therapies. Furthermore, the same complex networks of neurons enable active vision, visual perception that incorporates our intentions, expectations, and state-of-mind. The overarching goals of the Thalamocortical Visual Processing Section are to elucidate the unique functional contributions of identified neuronal circuits within and between visual brain structures to active visual perception, including modulation by brain state, and to study circuit disruptions associated with low vision. To achieve these goals, we utilize a combination of electrophysiological, imaging, optogenetic, anatomical, and behavioral approaches in multiple highly visual animal models. Our research will help define exactly “how we see” and facilitate the development of novel vision restoration strategies.
