Vision Begins Before We Actually See Anything

How does vision work, and what happens in the brain during the process? As simple as this question may sound, it has yet to be scientifically clarified in full. Dr. Valentin Riedl of the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and his team have now been able to show that the distribution of the two most important neurotransmitters in the brain changes as soon as we open our eyes, regardless of whether we actually see anything. To communicate with each other, neurons use chemical messengers known as neurotransmitters. The two most important neurotransmitters in the human brain, glutamate and GABA, have opposing effects: glutamate activates neurons, while GABA suppresses them. Glutamate, incidentally, is also used as spicy substance and can be found in tomatoes and Parmesan cheese. By altering the concentrations of the two neurotransmitters, the brain is able to process impressions from the eyes, called visual stimuli. Privatdozent Dr. Valentin Riedl, research group leader in the Neuroradiology Department of University Hospital Rechts der Isar of the TUM, and his team have studied how the concentrations of the two neurotransmitters change in the visual cortex, the region in the brain responsible for vision. The study is unique in that the team used magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) to measure the concentrations of the neurotransmitters in detail and, above all, in parallel. Visual Process Triggered by Opening the Eyes https://www.technologynetworks.com/neuroscience/news/vision-begins-before-we-actually-see-anything-312242?utm_campaign=Newsletter_TN_BreakingScienceNews&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=67829054&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8yI6pBq6JNNjSATFjqMNphreg5g-JKEEZY0m4KC0kzoPv0kWieMa49u8PztnOhOXMszEys5WpRdOyMG8Dkb9jJJ_t1rw&_hsmi=67829054