The Davis Laboratory at the John A. Moran Eye Center is focused on uncovering the mechanisms in the brain whereby visual information collected by the retina is processed and integrated by circuits and systems in the cortex to generate our experience of visual perception. Through this process, the lab hopes to identify basic science principles underlying the normal healthy function of the visual system and understand how visual impairments through damage or disease can be mitigated or reversed to prevent vision loss or restore visual function.
The objectives of the lab are:
• Develop theoretical models of visual function in the cortex using biologically grounded computational network models.
• Test the tenets of theoretical models of visual function by measuring perceptual thresholds and visual behaviors using advanced psychophysical experiments.
• Develop and implement tools to measure and manipulate neural activity and determine causal mechanisms underlying visual function in the brain.
• Dissect and dissociate the anatomical and functional contributions of cells, circuits, and systems in the cortex to the function of the visual system.
• Characterize the consequence of visual impairment through damage and disease of the visual system.
• Evaluate and validate the efficacy of treatment strategies in preventing or recovering visual function following impairment.