Visual Science Laboratory

Overview

The Visual Science Laboratory at the School of Optometry and Vision Science is located in the Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation (IHBI) at QUT and part of the Institute's Vision Improvement Domain. The primary research focus of the Visual Science Laboratory is to understand the early stage mechanisms controlling visual function and performance.

In particular, we investigate the mechanisms of rod-cone interaction, temporal processing and colour vision under mesopic light levels and the retinal inputs to the pupillary light reflex, as well as in applied investigations of the aging eye. To study visual function and performance, we conduct psychophysical studies using 4-primary photostimulator technology and use pupillometry to understand rod, cone and intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cell (ipRGC) function.

The laboratory translates difficult and time consuming psychophysical procedures into rapid and easily performed non-invasive clinical tests of visual function to improve the detection of eye disease. Computational models are developed to describe the data with parameters based on the physiological properties of the early visual pathways.

Grantor
  • Australian Research Council Discovery Projects (2010-2012)
  • Australian Research Council Discovery Projects (2007-2009)
Research leader
Research team
QUT External collaborators
  • Dr Dingcai Cao (The University of Chicago, USA)
  • Professor Joel Pokorny (The University of Chicago, USA)
  • Professor Jan Kremers (University of Erlangen-Nurnberg, Germany)
  • Professor David Y. Lee (Illinois College of Optometry, USA)
  • Dr Leonard Messner (Illinois College of Optometry, USA)
Organisational unit
Lead unit Faculty of Health Other units
Research area
Vision Improvement
 

Publications and output

  1. Feigl B, Mattes D, Thomas R, Zele AJ. (2011). Intrinsically photosensitive (melanopsin) retinal ganglion cell function in glaucoma. Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science.
  2. Zele AJ, Feigl B, Smith SS, Markwell EL. (2011). The circadian response of intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells. PLoS ONE. 6(3): e17860. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0017860.
  3. Feigl B, Cao D, Morris CP, Zele AJ. (2011). Persons with age-related maculopathy risk genotypes and clinically normal eyes have reduced mesopic vision. Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science. 52, 1145-1150.
  4. Feigl B, Zele AJ, Stewart IB. (2011). Mild systemic hypoxia and photopic visual field sensitivity. Acta Ophthalmologica. 89, e199-e204.
  5. Zele AJ, Wood JM, Girgenti CC. (2010). Magnocellular and parvocellular pathway mediated luminance contrast discrimination in amblyopia. Vision Research. 50, 969-976.
  6. Markwell EL, Feigl B, Zele AJ. (2010). Intrinsically photoreceptive melanopsin retinal ganglion cell contributions to the pupil light reflex and circadian rhythm (Invited Review). Clinical and Experimental Optometry. 93, 137-149.
  7. Gupta G, Guo H, Atchison DA, Zele AJ. (2010). Effect of optical aberrations on the colour appearance of small defocused lights. Journal of the Optical Society of America A. 27, 960-967.
  8. Feigl B, Zele AJ. (2010). Macular function in tilted disc syndrome. Documenta Ophthalmologica. 120, 201-203
  9. Zele AJ, Cao D, Pokorny J. (2008). Rod-cone interactions and the temporal impulse response of the cone pathway. Vision Research. 48, 2593-2598.
  10. Cao D, Pokorny J, Smith VC, Zele AJ. (2008). Rod contribution to color perception: Linear with rod contrast. Vision Research. 48, 2586-2592.
  11. Pokorny J, Lutze M, Cao D, Zele AJ. (2008). The color of night: Surface color categorization of color defective observers under dim illuminations. Visual Neuroscience. 25, 475-480.
  12. Cao D, Zele AJ, Pokorny J. (2008). Chromatic discrimination in the presence of incremental and decremental rod pedestals. Visual Neuroscience. 25, 399-404.
  13. Cao D, Zele AJ, Smith VC, Pokorny J. (2008). S-cone discrimination for stimuli with spatial and temporal chromatic contrast. Visual Neuroscience. 25, 349-354.
  14. Zele AJ, Dang TM, O'Loughlin RK, Guymer RH, Harper A, Vingrys AJ. (2008). Adaptation mechanisms, retinal eccentricity profiles and clinical applications of red-on-white static and flicker perimetry. Optometry and Vision Science. 85, 309-317
  15. Feigl B, Stewart IB, Brown B, Zele AJ. (2008) Local neuroretinal function during acute hypoxia in healthy older people. Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science. 49, 807-813.
  16. Dimitrov PN, Guymer RH, Zele AJ, Anderson AJ, Vingrys AJ. (2008). Measuring rod and cone dynamics in age-related macular degeneration. Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science. 49. 55-65.
  17. Feigl B, Zele AJ. (2008). A method for investigating the temporal dynamics of local neuroretinal responses. Journal of Neuroscience Methods. 167. 207-212.
  18. Zele AJ, Vingrys AJ. (2007). Defining the detection mechanisms for symmetric and rectified-flicker stimuli. Vision Research. 47. 2700-2713.
  19. Zele AJ, Pokorny J, Lee D, Ireland D. (2007). Anisometropic amblyopia: Spatial contrast sensitivity deficits in inferred parvocellular and magnocellular vision. Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science. 48(8). 3622-3631.
  20. Zele AJ, Cao D, Pokorny J. (2007). Threshold units: A correct metric for reaction time? Vision Research. 47. 608-611.
  21. Cao D, Zele AJ, Pokorny J. (2007). Linking impulse response functions to reaction times: Rod and cone reaction time data and a computational model. Vision Research. 47. 1060-1074.
  22. Taylor NR, Zele AJ, Vingrys AJ, Stanley RG. (2007). Variation in intraocular pressure following the application of Tropicamide' in three different dog breeds. Veterinary Ophthalmology. 10. 8-11. (Invited).
  23. Zele AJ, Smith VC, Pokorny J. (2006). Spatial and temporal chromatic contrast: Effect on chromatic contrast discrimination for stimuli varying in L- and M-cone excitation. Visual Neuroscience. 23. 495-501.
  24. Pokorny J, Lutze M, Cao D, Zele AJ. (2006). The color of night: Surface color perception under dim illuminations. Visual Neuroscience. 23. 525-530.
  25. Zele AJ, O'Loughlin RK, Guymer RH, Vingrys AJ. (2006). Disclosing disease mechanisms with a spatio-temporal summation paradigm. Graefe's Archive for Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology. 244. 425-432. (Invited).
  26. Jaworski A, Gentle A, Zele AJ, Vingrys AJ, McBrien NA. (2006). Altered visual sensitivity in axial high myopia: A local post-receptoral phenomenon? Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science. 47(8). 3695-3702.
  27. Cao D, Zele AJ, Pokorny J. (2006). Dark-adapted rod suppression of cone flicker detection: Evaluation of receptoral and post-receptoral interactions. Visual Neuroscience. 23. 531-537.
  28. Vingrys AJ, Zele AJ. (2005). Robust estimates of clinical data: Meaningless means. Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science. New Developments. 46(12). 4353-4357. Invited
  29. Zele AJ, Vingrys AJ. (2005). Cathode-ray-tube monitor artefacts in neurophysiology. Journal of Neuroscience Methods. 141. 1-7.
  30. Greferath U, Nag N, Zele AJ, Bui BV, Wilson Y, Vingrys AJ, Murphy M. (2004). Fos-tau-LacZ mice expose light activated pathways in the visual system. Neuroimage. 23. 1027-1038.
  31. Flanagan P, Zele AJ. (2004). Chromatic and luminance losses with multiple sclerosis and optic neuritis measured using dynamic random luminance contrast noise. Ophthalmic and Physiological Optics. 24(3). 225-233.
  32. Zele AJ, Vingrys AJ. (2001). Achromatic impulses unmask L- and M-cone adaptive mechanisms. Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology, 29. 197-200.
  33. Phipps JA, Zele AJ, Dang T, Vingrys AJ. (2001). Fast psychophysical procedures for clinical testing. Clinical and Experimental Optometry, 84(5). 264-269.
  34. Zele AJ, Vingrys AJ. (2000). Flicker adaptation can be explained by probability summation between independent ON- and OFF-processors. Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology, 28. 227-229.