Center for Vision Research
Seminar Series 2013-2014
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CVR News
Fall 2012
New Center for Vision Research faculty
RIchard Chappell joins the CVR faculty
Research Statement: Over the past decade,
our investigations have established a role for
reactive zinc (Zn2+) as a neuromodulator at
the level of the outer plexiform layer of the
vertebrate retina. We are currently embarked
on studies to determine mechanisms by which
this zinc release is acting to modulate
transmission at this first stage in the
processing of visual information in the retina.
The hypothesis that the zinc released
provides feedback at the photoreceptor
terminals by modulation of the calcium entry
involved in its own vesicular release along
with glutamate is of particular interest. Such
feedback may provide a way to reset the gain
of the photoreceptor synapse as the mean
level of light intensity increases over several
log units. This zinc feedback may also serve
to reduce the amount of glutamate released in
the dark when photoreceptors are maximally
depolarized and the release of the potentially
excitotoxic photoreceptor neurotransmitter
glutamate is not needed for vision. In this
way, zinc may play a cytoprotective role in the
retina in addition to its contribution to
optimizing the level of neurotransmitter
release. Zinc appears to be an important
factor throughout the nervous system. The
retina provides a well-defined, suitably
isolated region of neuronal material in which
mechanisms involving zinc can be
investigated.
Pedro Felzenszwalb, an Associate Professor
with the Division of Engineering and the
Computer Science Dept has recently joined
the Center for Vision Research.
Fall semester 2013 - - Stay Tuned!
Dan Simons, PhD, from the Beckman Institute, University of
Illinois will be here to give a CVR lecture on October 3rd,
2013!
TEDx at UIUC -Daniel Simons - Seeing The World As It Isn't
Dan Simons explores why we see the world as it ISN'T.
Daniel Simons is head of the Visual Cognition Laboratory at the University of
Illinois. His research explores the ways in which our beliefs and intuitions about
the workings of our own minds are often mistaken and why that matters. He is
best known for his experiments revealing striking failures of perception and the
limits of visual awareness. His research is exhibited in science museums
worldwide and his writing has been published in many newspapers and
magazines, including The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, and The
Chicago Tribune. He recently co-authored the book, "The Invisible Gorilla, and
Other Ways Our Intuitions Deceive Us" (Crown, 2010).