Brain finding links vision to emotion
As the prostriata is one of the first areas affected in Alzheimer’s disease, it could be targeted in future treatments for the disease. Image: IvelinRadkov/iStockphoto Neuroscientists have discovered a new area of the brain that is uniquely specialised for peripheral vision and could be targeted in future treatments for panic disorders and Alzheimer’s disease.Published today in high impact journal Current Biology, researchers led by Dr Hsin-Hao Yu and Professor Marcello Rosa from Monash University’s Department of Physiology found that a brain area, known as prostriata, was specialised in detecting fast-moving objects in peripheral vision.This area, located in a primitive part of the cerebral cortex, has characteristics unlike any other visual area described before, including a “direct line” of communication to brain areas controlling emotion and quick reactions.Dr Yu said the discovery, identified during the development of the Monash Vision Group’s bionic eye, funded through the ARC Research in Bionic Vision Science and...