[Skip to Content]

Rod and cone mechanisms of mesopic vision

Dr. Solessio

Rod-mediated vision transitions seamlessly to cone-mediated vision as light levels rise through the mesopic visual range. In fact, mesopic vision is the major mode of vision for people who spend most of their time indoors under artificial lighting. Yet, there is a glaring lack of knowledge of how rod and cone photoresponses shape visual sensitivity in mesopic light. The major goal of our lab is to understand how the retina processes mesopic lights in normal and diseased conditions. We integrate retinal electrophysiological techniques, transgenic mouse models, animal visual behavior, and mathematical modeling to investigate the neural and perceptual mechanisms underlying mesopic vision, with particular interest on its temporal properties.


Contact: Eduardo C. Solessio, PhD Associate Professor, Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences and Neuroscience & Physiology
Location: 3611 Institute For Human Performance
Phone: (315) 464-7746
Email: solessie@upstate.edu

Dr. Solessio has co-authored chapters in two textbooks. His work is published in Nature, Nature Neuroscience, Journal of Physiology (London), Journal of General Physiology, Journal of Neuroscience, eNeuro, Journal of Neurophysiology, Visual Neuroscience, Journal of Cell Biology, American Zoologist, Progress in Brain Research, Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience, and Revista Telegrafica (Argentina). He collaborates with Drs. Barry Knox, Andrea Viczian, Bill Brunken, Peter Calvert, and Mike Zuber of SUNY Upstate Medical University; Christophe Ribelayga at UTHealth in Houston, Sheila Baker at U. Iowa, Xiuquian Mu at SUNY Buffalo, and Nicolas Cuenca of Universidad de Alicante in Spain.

 His research is funded by the National Eye Institute, Research to Prevent Blindness, and the Lions Club of Central New York. He has received the Research to Prevent Blindness Career Development Award, and the Fight for Sight-Prevent Blindness America Research Award. He is a member of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Top