Visual acuity

…optic tectum evoked by prey-like visual stimuli. We found that si

Pigeons exhibit superior visual capabilities compared to humans, with enhanced luminance and colour discrimination, and visual acuity supported by more than double the axon count in their optic nerves despite their much smaller size. A growing body of behavioural evidence suggests that many birds, including pigeons, can perform abstract visual categorisation and concept formation, once thought exclusive to humans and other primates. The evolutionary divergence of avian and human brains occurred more than 300 million years ago, raising the intriguing question of how equivalent levels of visual

White matter injury (WMI) is frequently observed in preterm infants, despite advances in neonatal care. Hypoxia is a key contributing factor which, through heightened vulnerability of preterm newborns, leads to oligodendrocyte dysmaturation, ultimately impairing essential myelination processes. To date, no known effective treatment exists. Considering our recent finding, that inhibiting GPR17 enhances oligodendrocyte progenitor cell (OPC) differentiation and myelination following optic nerve crush, we aimed to investigate the impacts of genetic and pharmacological manipulation in a WMI model.C

…plasticity (ODP) in mouse primary visual cortex (V1). We have previously shown that altered timing of the CP for ODP is caused by modified maturation of AMPA-silent synapses in both PSD-93 and PSD-95 KO mice, and results in compromised orientation discrimination (Favaro et al 2018, PLosBiol 16:e2006838). We therefore analysed whether orexin KO modifies AMPA-currents in V1 and causes similar visual deficits.First, we quantified AMPA-recepto

Our aim was to investigate the distribution of retinal ganglion cells and visual acuity in hedgehogs, nocturnal insectivores with reputedly poor vision. Adult Erinaceus europaeus and E. roumanicus, two hedgehog species found in Austria, were studied. The eyes were enucleated, fixed, and ocular anatomical parameters were measured. To identify retinal ganglion cells (RGCs), Brn3a, which is expressed by vision-forming RGCs, and RBPMS, which is expressed by vision- and non-vision-forming RGCs, were visualized by fluorescence immunolabeling of retinal frozen sections and wholemounts. RGC density wa

Despite her still poor visual acuity and minimal visual experience, a 2-3 month old baby will reliably respond to facial expressions, smiling back at her caretaker or older sibling. But what if that same baby had been deprived of her early visual experience? Will she be able to appropriately respond to seemingly mundane interactions, such as a peer’s facial expression, if she begins seeing at the age of 10? My work is part of Project Prakash, a dual humanitarian/scientific mission to identify and treat curably blind children in India and then study how their brain learns to make sense of the v

…between performance in different visual tests; meaning that, a participant performing better in one test is not more likely to perform also better in another test. Likewise in ageing, cross-sectional studies have repeatedly shown that older adults show deteriorated performance in most visual tests compared to young adults. However, within the older population, there is no evidence for a common factor underlying visual abilities. To investigate further the decline of visual

…task, where participants controlled a visual cursor on the screen with their mouse and trackpad. Motor learning wa

It has long been appreciated (and celebrated) that certain species have sensory capabilities that humans do not share, for example polarization, ultraviolet, and infrared vision. What is less appreciated however, is that our position as terrestrial human scientists can significantly affect our study of animal senses and signals, even within modalities that we do share. For example, our acute vision can lead us to over-interpret the relevance of fine patterns in animals with coarser vision, and our Cartesian heritage as scientists can lead us to divide sensory modalities into orthogonal paramet

Outside the foveola, visual acuity and other visual functions gradually deteriorate with increasing eccentricity. Humans compensate for these limitations by relying on a tight link between perception and action; rapid gaze shifts (saccades) occur 2-3 times every second, separating brief “fixation” intervals in which visual information is acquired and processed. During fixation, however, the eye is not immobile. Small eye movements incessantly shift the image on the retina even when the attended stimulus is already foveated, suggesting a much deeper coupling between visual functions and oculomo