Of all the senses, vision is perhaps the most fundamental to our interactions with the world. Roughly a quarter of the brain is involved in visual processing—more than nature allocates to any other sense—and references to vision also permeate our speech.
"Look," we say when we're trying to underscore a point. "I see," we say when we want to express understanding. Someone with a deep grasp of something is insightful, and someone with imagination has vision.
But when it comes to the actual sense of sight, there is a lot that we don't yet understand. What scientists do know is that we don't "see" with our eyes; we actually "see" with our brains. Vision begins with the formation of an image on the back of the eye, which is translated into a cascade of nerve impulses sending signals deep into the brain. It is here, in the brain's visual cortex, which resides in the occipital lobe at the back of the skull, that these signals are interpreted and give rise to perception.
Scientists at the Salk Institute study different stages of visual processing to understand how our brains gather and process meaningful information about our environment. Ultimately, they would like to understand the participating neuronal networks in such intricate detail that they will be able to draw a "wiring diagram" of the brain, a prerequisite to intervening in diseases that diminish or destroy vision.
Professor and Director
Vision Center Laboratory
Conrad T. Prebys Chair in Vision Research
Edward M. Callaway
Professor
Systems Neurobiology Laboratories
Audrey Geisel Chair in Biomedical Science
E. J. Chichilnisky
Professor
Systems Neurobiology Laboratories
Ralph S. and Becky O'Connor Chair
Sascha du Lac
Associate Professor
Systems Neurobiology Laboratories
Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator
John H. Reynolds
Professor
Systems Neurobiology Laboratory
Tatyana Sharpee
Associate Professor
Computational Neurobiology Laboratory
Helen McLoraine Developmental Chair in Neurobiology
Salk News Releases
Despite what you may think, your brain is a mathematical genius
April 10, 2013
Salk scientists map the frontiers of vision
January 5, 2012
What the brain saw
March 30, 2011
From eye to brain: Salk researchers map functional connections between retinal neurons at single-cell resolution
October 6, 2010
Rising above the din:
Attention makes sensory signals stand out amidst the background noise in the brain
September 23, 2009
NIH designates Salk Institute one of seven national basic research centers focused on vision
July 13, 2009
Streamlining brain signals for speed and efficacy
October 21, 2008
Distinguishing between two birds of a feather
August 7, 2008
