Khaberni - A new study conducted by the Yale School of Medicine reveals an unexpected way the eye processes what we see, and how visual information travels from the retina to the brain.
The study explains that the eye does not see an image all at once, but rather deconstructs it into parts such as color, light, movement, and contrast, then processes each part separately. This method helps the brain understand the scene very quickly.
Scientists used to believe that this separation of information continued all the way inside the eye, but the new study showed that there is more interaction and overlap between these channels than previously thought, which might help the eye pick up weak signals, especially in dim lighting.
The vision process begins inside the retina of the eye, where light-sensitive cells receive the signal and pass it to other cells that in turn send it towards the brain. During this stage, the information is divided into several parallel pathways.
However, the surprise that researchers discovered is that these pathways are not completely separate, but there is a kind of connection and coordination between them.
The cells in the retina rely on two methods of communication: either through chemical signals or through direct electrical signals. The study found that electrical signals play an important role in linking these pathways together.
When attempting to activate only one cell, the research team noticed that several other cells react with it at the same time, instead of the response being limited to one place as was expected.
The scientists also discovered a particular type of cell that seems to control this connection and coordinates between the different pathways, making the transfer of information more organized than previously thought.
The results suggest that this system helps the eye perform two functions at the same time: separating information to process fine details, and connecting it when needed to see weak or unclear signals.
Scientists say this balance might be important, for example, in seeing small things or in dim lighting.
The study was conducted on a mouse eye and then on a human retina, using advanced techniques that allowed the scientists to monitor cell activity directly without damaging the retina, which is considered an important step in this field.
The team hopes that understanding this mechanism will help in the future to explain some eye diseases, such as vision loss associated with aging or certain types of blindness.
