{"id":144701,"date":"2017-01-10T10:46:33","date_gmt":"2017-01-10T10:46:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/the-science-of-first-sight-researchers-reveal-how-a-babys-brain-learns-to-see\/"},"modified":"2017-01-10T10:46:33","modified_gmt":"2017-01-10T10:46:33","slug":"the-science-of-first-sight-researchers-reveal-how-a-babys-brain-learns-to-see","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/the-science-of-first-sight-researchers-reveal-how-a-babys-brain-learns-to-see\/","title":{"rendered":"The science of first sight: Researchers reveal how a baby&#8217;s brain learns to see"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul class=\"mol-bullets-with-font\">\n<li class=\"\"><strong>Newborns start out with blurry vision but their vision focuses in a few months<\/strong><\/li>\n<li class=\"\"><strong>The researchers raised mice in darkness to see what impact it had on their brain<\/strong><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><strong>\u00a0<span><\/span><\/strong><\/li>\n<li class=\"\"><strong><span>The research could help with vision <\/span>restoration<span>\u00a0for people with sight problems<\/span><\/strong><\/li>\n<li class=\"\"><strong><span>Visual experience early in life is key in developing parts of the brain responsible for seeing moving objects\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"author-section byline-plain\">By<\/p>\n<p>Cecile Borkhataria For Dailymail.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"byline-section\"><span class=\"article-timestamp article-timestamp-published\"><br \/>\n  <span class=\"article-timestamp-label\">Published:<\/span><br \/>\n  15:22 EST, 9 January 2017<br \/>\n<\/span><br \/>\n | <span class=\"article-timestamp article-timestamp-updated\"><br \/>\n  <span class=\"article-timestamp-label\">Updated:<\/span><br \/>\n  15:22 EST, 9 January 2017<br \/>\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li class=\"share-facebook\"><\/li>\n<li class=\"share-twitter\"><\/li>\n<li class=\"share-pinterest\"><\/li>\n<li class=\"share-gplus\">\n      <span class=\"g-interactivepost\"><br \/>\n        <a><\/a><br \/>\n      <\/span>\n        <\/li>\n<li class=\"share-email\">\n<p>                <span class=\"wai\">e-mail<\/span><br \/>\n            <\/a>\n        <\/li>\n<li class=\"share-icons\" id=\"shareLinkTop\">\n            <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>     <span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"count-number\">           2<\/p>\n<p class=\"count-text\">View <br \/> comments<\/p>\n<p>    <\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">When a newborn first opens its eyes, it sees the world around it as blurry shapes.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">But a few months later, its vision starts to focus and it will start to recognize people and objects.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">Researchers at UNC&#8217;s School of Medicine have found out more about how the brains of baby mammal&#8217;s develop as they refine their sense of sight, and the research may also help restore sight for people with vision problems.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\"><span class=\"mol-style-bold\">Scroll down for video\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" id=\"i-f70e95c373cf6afd\" src=\"image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" height=\"422\" width=\"634\" alt=\"When a newborn first opens its eyes, it sees the world around it as blurry shapes. But a few months later, its vision starts to focus and it will start to recognize you\" class=\"blkBorder img-share\" \/><br \/>\n      <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" id=\"i-f70e95c373cf6afd\" src=\"http:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/i\/pix\/2017\/01\/09\/17\/3BFFC63E00000578-0-image-a-1_1483984033960.jpg\" height=\"422\" width=\"634\" alt=\"When a newborn first opens its eyes, it sees the world around it as blurry shapes. But a few months later, its vision starts to focus and it will start to recognize you\" class=\"blkBorder img-share\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"imageCaption\">When a newborn first opens its eyes, it sees the world around it as blurry shapes. But a few months later, its vision starts to focus and it will start to recognize you<\/p>\n<ul class=\"rotator-panels link-bogr1 linkro-ccox\">\n<li>\n<p>          <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/i\/pix\/2017\/01\/09\/15\/3BFF341000000578-0-image-a-26_1483977082185.jpg\" width=\"62\" height=\"60\" \/><span>Why we tend to carry babies on our LEFT: The position helps&#8230;<\/span><br \/>\n        <\/a><\/p>\n<p>          <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/i\/pix\/2017\/01\/09\/11\/3BFB1B1A00000578-0-image-a-34_1483960871569.jpg\" width=\"62\" height=\"60\" \/><span>The incredible moment a group of monkeys communicate with a&#8230;<\/span><br \/>\n        <\/a><\/p>\n<p>          <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/i\/pix\/2017\/01\/05\/00\/3BD91B2500000578-0-image-m-12_1483576116478.jpg\" width=\"62\" height=\"60\" \/><span>Not a morning person? You must have been born at night! It&#8217;s&#8230;<\/span><br \/>\n        <\/a><\/p>\n<p>          <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/i\/pix\/2017\/01\/09\/17\/3BFFC1CF00000578-0-image-m-19_1483984651668.jpg\" width=\"62\" height=\"60\" \/><span>It&#8217;s a shark eat shark world: Shocking documentary reveals&#8230;<\/span><br \/>\n        <\/a>\n      <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">The research, which was conducted on mice and published in the journal Nature Neuroscience, is part of a wider project that aims to maps the areas of the brain that play key roles in vision processing.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">The proper functioning of these brain areas is also key for vision restoration in people who have vision problems.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">The head researcher of the lab, Dr Spencer Smith, said: &#8216;Early on, there are genetic programs and chemical pathways that position cells in the brain and help wire up a &#8216;rough draft&#8217; of the circuitry.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">&#8216;Later, after birth, this circuitry is actively sculpted by visual experience: simply looking around our world helps developing brains wire up the most sophisticated visual processing circuitry the world has ever known.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">&#8216;Even the best supercomputers and our latest algorithms still can&#8217;t compete with the visual processing abilities of humans and animals.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">&#8216;We want to know how neural circuitry does this.&#8217;\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" id=\"i-c587cbec63d321d5\" src=\"image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" height=\"554\" width=\"634\" alt=\"Using his imaging system and precision surgical methods, Dr Smith and his team could view specific areas of the brain at the level of the neuron: The cells in the brain that transmit signals\" class=\"blkBorder img-share\" \/><br \/>\n      <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" id=\"i-c587cbec63d321d5\" src=\"http:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/i\/pix\/2017\/01\/09\/18\/3BFFC65C00000578-4102864-image-a-16_1483984909522.jpg\" height=\"554\" width=\"634\" alt=\"Using his imaging system and precision surgical methods, Dr Smith and his team could view specific areas of the brain at the level of the neuron: The cells in the brain that transmit signals\" class=\"blkBorder img-share\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"imageCaption\">Using his imaging system and precision surgical methods, Dr Smith and his team could view specific areas of the brain at the level of the neuron: The cells in the brain that transmit signals<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">There are two subnetworks of visual circuitry, called the ventral and dorsal streams, and the latter of these is important for motion perception.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">In one set of experiments, the\u00a0team raised mice in complete darkness for several weeks.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">Even the daily care of the mice was in darkness with the aid of night-vision goggles.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">Using his imaging system and precision surgical methods, Dr Smith and his team could view specific areas of the brain at the level of the neuron: The cells in the brain that transmit signals.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">They showed that the ventral visual stream in mice functioned immediately, with individual neurons firing as the mice responded to visual stimuli.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">But the dorsal stream did not.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">&#8216;Keeping the mice in darkness significantly degraded the magnitude of visual responses in the dorsal stream &#8211; responses to what they were seeing,&#8217; Dr Smith said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">The neurons in the dorsal area weren&#8217;t firing as strongly as they did in mice raised with normal visual experience.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">&#8216;Interestingly, even after a recovery period in a normal light-dark cycle, the visual deficit in the dorsal stream persisted.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">This is similar to the persistent visual problems seen in humans with cataracts in both eyes that aren&#8217;t repaired until later in life.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">&#8216;Not only did the mice need visual experience to develop their dorsal stream of visual processing, but they needed it in an early developmental time window to refine the brain circuitry,&#8217; said Dr Smith.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">&#8216;Otherwise, their vision never properly developed.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">These experiments can help explain what happens in the ventral and dorsal streams of humans when we&#8217;re babies, when part of our vision slowly develops and we try to make sense of the world moving around us during the first few months after birth. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>            <!-- ad: http:\/\/mads.dailymail.co.uk\/v2\/us\/sciencetech\/none\/article\/other\/inread_player.html --><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"social-links-title\">Share or comment on this article<\/h3>\n<ul class=\"bigLinks sc-icns cleared\">\n<li class=\"facebook\">\n<p>                                    <span class=\"wai\">e-mail<\/span><br \/>\n                                <\/a>\n                            <\/li>\n<li class=\"share\" id=\"shareLinkBottom\">\n<p>                                <\/a>\n                            <\/li>\n<li class=\"social-stats social-stats-pipe\" id=\"shareCountBottom\">\n<\/li>\n<li id=\"addCommentButton\" class=\"add-comment\">\n<p>                                <\/a>\n                            <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>            <!-- NOTE: WARNING: render-partial is a function --><\/p>\n<ul class=\"rotator-panels\">\n<li class=\"new shallow-ac mini link-bogr6 linkro-wocc\">\n<p>                        <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/i\/pix\/2017\/01\/09\/04\/3BF9BC7200000578-0-image-a-105_1483937208451.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"154\" height=\"115\" \/><span class=\"wocc bdrcc\">Trump fires back at Meryl Streep and calls her &#8216;one of the&#8230;<\/span><br \/>\n                    <\/a>\n                <\/li>\n<li class=\"new shallow-ac mini link-bogr6 linkro-wocc\">\n<p>                        <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/i\/pix\/2017\/01\/09\/14\/3BFE31D800000578-0-image-a-23_1483970827045.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"154\" height=\"115\" \/><span class=\"wocc bdrcc\">PIERS MORGAN: Sorry, Meryl but that hypocritical anti-Trump&#8230;<\/span><br \/>\n                    <\/a>\n                <\/li>\n<li class=\"new shallow-ac mini link-bogr6 linkro-wocc\">\n<p>                        <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/i\/pix\/2017\/01\/10\/10\/3C041BD200000578-0-image-a-5_1484043840039.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"154\" height=\"115\" \/><span class=\"wocc bdrcc\">Not impressed! Mel Gibson and Vince Vaughn glare daggers&#8230;<\/span><br \/>\n                    <\/a>\n                <\/li>\n<li class=\"new shallow-ac mini link-bogr6 linkro-wocc\">\n<p>                        <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/i\/pix\/2017\/01\/09\/17\/3BFFCC6A00000578-0-image-a-2_1483984538517.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"154\" height=\"115\" \/><span class=\"wocc bdrcc\">White Hot: Megyn Kelly lets her hair down and flashes some&#8230;<\/span><br \/>\n                    <\/a>\n                <\/li>\n<li class=\"new shallow-ac mini link-bogr6 linkro-wocc\">\n<p>                        <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/i\/pix\/2017\/01\/08\/21\/3BF64A1500000578-0-image-m-30_1483912237268.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"154\" height=\"115\" \/><span class=\"wocc bdrcc\">Manhattan couple hasn&#8217;t paid rent on their $4,754-per-month&#8230;<\/span><br \/>\n                    <\/a>\n                <\/li>\n<li class=\"new shallow-ac mini link-bogr6 linkro-wocc\">\n<p>                        <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/i\/pix\/2017\/01\/10\/00\/3C01C2D700000578-0-image-m-18_1484006421078.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"154\" height=\"115\" \/><span class=\"wocc bdrcc\">Was Kim Kardashian heist an INSIDE job? Chauffeur, 27, who&#8230;<\/span><br \/>\n                    <\/a>\n                <\/li>\n<li class=\"new shallow-ac mini link-bogr6 linkro-wocc\">\n<p>                        <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/i\/pix\/2017\/01\/09\/17\/3BFF986B00000578-0-image-m-55_1483982941893.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"154\" height=\"115\" \/><span class=\"wocc bdrcc\">Enough to drive you crazy! Motorist gets $128 ticket for&#8230;<\/span><br \/>\n                    <\/a>\n                <\/li>\n<li class=\"new shallow-ac mini link-bogr6 linkro-wocc\">\n<p>                        <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/i\/pix\/2017\/01\/09\/06\/3BFA1F9800000578-0-image-a-28_1483942279150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"154\" height=\"115\" \/><span class=\"wocc bdrcc\">Meryl Streep&#8217;s anti-Trump Golden Globe speech divides&#8230;<\/span><br \/>\n                    <\/a>\n                <\/li>\n<li class=\"new shallow-ac mini link-bogr6 linkro-wocc\">\n<p>                        <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/i\/pix\/2017\/01\/09\/17\/3BFFB9A500000578-0-image-a-34_1483983622363.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"154\" height=\"115\" \/><span class=\"wocc bdrcc\">&#8216;Honest mistakes happen on live television&#8217;: Al Roker gives&#8230;<\/span><br \/>\n                    <\/a>\n                <\/li>\n<li class=\"new shallow-ac mini link-bogr6 linkro-wocc\">\n<p>                        <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/i\/pix\/2017\/01\/09\/18\/3BFF8D3100000578-0-image-m-44_1483986399854.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"154\" height=\"115\" \/><span class=\"wocc bdrcc\">Fixer-uppers in San Francisco now cost almost $1 MILLION on&#8230;<\/span><br \/>\n                    <\/a>\n                <\/li>\n<li class=\"new shallow-ac mini link-bogr6 linkro-wocc\">\n<p>                        <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/i\/pix\/2017\/01\/09\/11\/3BFCAC0600000578-0-image-a-11_1483963086121.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"154\" height=\"115\" \/><span class=\"wocc bdrcc\">Historic &#8216;atmospheric river&#8217; storm topples hollowed-out&#8230;<\/span><br \/>\n                    <\/a>\n                <\/li>\n<li class=\"new shallow-ac mini link-bogr6 linkro-wocc\">\n<p>                        <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/i\/pix\/2017\/01\/09\/14\/3BFE431900000578-0-image-m-6_1483972457854.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"154\" height=\"115\" \/><span class=\"wocc bdrcc\">&#8216;I didn&#8217;t hear Meryl Streep give a shout out to the mentally&#8230;<\/span><br \/>\n                    <\/a>\n                <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>                                <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/f.dailymail.co.uk\/i\/furniture\/comments\/articles\/btn_add-your-comment.png\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>                            <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/f.dailymail.co.uk\/i\/furniture\/comments\/articles\/icon_comments_74.png\" \/><\/p>\n<h3>Comments (<span class=\"readerCommentsCount\">2<\/span>)<\/h3>\n<p>\n                                \tShare what you think\n                                <\/p>\n<ul id=\"rc-tabs\" class=\"js-links dm-tabs cnr5 cleared\">\n<li class=\"dm-tab dm-tab-on bdrgr5 cnr-bdr wogr5 link-wox js-active\">\n                            <span class=\"xogr5 tl\"><\/span><br \/>\n                            <span class=\"xogr5 tr\"><\/span><br \/>\n                            Newest<\/a>\n                        <\/li>\n<li class=\"dm-tab bdrgr5 ow-igr2-bx cnr-bdr xogr2 link-gr5ox\">\n                            <span class=\"xogr5 tl\"><\/span><br \/>\n                            <span class=\"xogr5 tr\"><\/span><br \/>\n                            Oldest<\/a>\n                        <\/li>\n<li class=\"dm-tab bdrgr5 ow-igr2-bx cnr-bdr xogr2 link-gr5ox\">\n                            <span class=\"xogr5 tl\"><\/span><br \/>\n                            <span class=\"xogr5 tr\"><\/span><br \/>\n                            Best rated<\/a>\n                        <\/li>\n<li class=\"dm-tab bdrgr5 ow-igr2-bx cnr-bdr xogr2 link-gr5ox last\">\n                            <span class=\"xogr5 tl\"><\/span><br \/>\n                            <span class=\"xogr5 tr\"><\/span><br \/>\n                            Worst rated<\/a>\n                        <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The comments below have not been moderated.<\/p>\n<p class=\"bold pad5 wogr5 rc-info\">\n                        The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.\n                    <\/p>\n<p>            <\/a><\/p>\n<p>                    Find out now<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Newborns start out with blurry vision but their vision focuses in a few months The researchers raised mice in darkness to see what impact it had on their brain\u00a0\u00a0 The research could help with vision restoration\u00a0for people with sight problems Visual experience early in life is key in developing parts of the brain responsible for <a class=\"read-more-link\" href=\"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/the-science-of-first-sight-researchers-reveal-how-a-babys-brain-learns-to-see\/\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-144701","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144701","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=144701"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144701\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=144701"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=144701"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=144701"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}