BCSDP

Mentor Research Statement

Dennis M. Levi, OD, PhD, FAAO

Professor of Optometry and Vision Science; Professor of Neuroscience; Dean, School of Optometry, University of California, Berkeley

E-mail: dlevi@berkeley.edu
Web: Levi Laboratory
VS Web: Vision Science page
UCBSO Web: Optometry page

Research Interests

Pattern vision, abnormal visual development

Our research focuses on the mechanisms of pattern vision, and the influence of abnormal visual development on those mechanisms, i.e., amblyopia. Aside from refractive error, amblyopia is the leading cause of visual loss in infants and children. Research in our lab focuses on how we perceive visual forms and patterns, and how form perception is degraded by abnormal visual experience early in life (amblyopia). Specifically, we use psychophysics, computational modeling and brain imaging (fMRI) and non-invasive electrophysiology (VEP) to study the neural mechanisms of normal pattern vision in humans, and to learn how they are degraded by abnormal visual experience (amblyopia). While amblyopia is known to influence the properties of neurons in cortical area V1 recent work in our laboratory suggests that amblyopia may also result in damage to higher cortical areas.
BCSDP trainees will be trained in psychophysical, non-invasive electrophysiological and functional neuro-imaging methods to investigate neural alterations in patients with visual loss as a consequence of amblyopia, aging, disease, or injury.

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