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Visual Prosthesis, Optogenetic Approaches

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Encyclopedia of Computational Neuroscience

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Synonyms

Bionic eye; Bionic vision

Definition

A visual prosthesis is a device which can artificially restore vision to blind patients. The optogenetic approach involves reverse engineering remaining pathways in the visual system to be photosensitive with light-activated pumps and channels. Illuminating these with optoelectronics encoding visual scenes can then return a sense of vision.

Detailed Description

The human visual system consists of the eye, the optic nerve, and the visual processing centers in the thalamus and visual cortex of the brain. The eye is responsible for optics, image stabilization, transduction and aqucisition, with the latter two occuring in the retina. Retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) send information from the eye to the thalamus, which is responsible for sorting left and right eye information. The final projection is to the visual cortex which reconstructs the information to allow the individual to recognize their environment.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Electrical Electronic and Computer Engineering, Newcastle University, Merz Court, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK

    Dr. Patrick Degenaar

  2. Institute of Neuroscience, The Medical School, Newcastle University, Merz Court, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK

    John Barrett

Authors
  1. Dr. Patrick Degenaar
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  2. John Barrett
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Patrick Degenaar .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Atlanta, Georgia, USA

    Dieter Jaeger

  2. Department of Biomedical Engineering, Florida International University, Miami, Florida, USA

    Ranu Jung

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© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Degenaar, P., Barrett, J. (2014). Visual Prosthesis, Optogenetic Approaches. In: Jaeger, D., Jung, R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Computational Neuroscience. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7320-6_666-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7320-6_666-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-7320-6

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Biomedicine and Life SciencesReference Module Biomedical and Life Sciences

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