An eye for an eye

How do we see? What happens when we can’t see? What treatments can we offer to help people who cannot see, now and in future? What we see does not just depend on our eyes, but how our brains process and interpret visual information. Complicated networks of nerves linking our eyes with our brain make sense of light, colour, and movement in the world around us, and it is these networks that are responsible for “tricking our brains” into seeing visual illusions. In this talk, I will be addressing the questions above and how our eyes are, in fact, “cleverer” than we think!

Scientists have demonstrated a method for generating several key types of eye tissue from human stem cells in a way that mirrors the whole eye development. When transplanted to an animal model of corneal blindness, these tissues are shown to repair the front of the eye and restore vision, which scientists say could pave the way for human clinical trials of anterior eye transplantation to restore lost or damaged vision.

How many times have you struggled to remember where you parked your car – especially when you haven’t parked in your usual spot?
This type of memory recall not only depends on your vision, but also how well you can make new memories without confusing them with older ones. This is more challenging when the difference between the new vs old memory is small.
This talk will focus on the brain region which highlights the differences between similar memories by virtue of its network of specialised nerve cells. Disorders which disrupt this network, like dementia, will lead to confusion!