Scientists have figured out how long visual events should last for the brain to notice

Visual perception—the body's ability to understand visual changes—depends on how the eye and

brains work together.Signals generated in the retina travel through the nerve fibers of the ganglion cells to the brain. In the mice studied, 85% of the retinal ganglion cells are connected to the brain region by the superior colliculus. It provides much of the early visual processing in these animals. However, in primates, most of the information is analyzed by the visual cortex, but 10% of retinal ganglion cells still connect to the superior colliculus.

The researchers concluded that when processingthe brain of visual information, an evolutionarily conservative region - the upper colliculus, notifies other areas of the brain that an event has occurred. This process takes about 100 milliseconds - just so much the brain needs to understand that an event has occurred.

Neurons of the superior colliculus in mice

Scientists came to this conclusion thanksinhibition of this area of ​​the brain in mice - as part of the experiment, they blocked access to parts of the brain at different times in order to establish how many seconds should pass for a reaction to an event.

“One of the most important aspects of visionis the rapid detection of important events, especially those that may threaten the body. Our study shows that it depends on visual processing in the midbrain, and not just on the visual cortex. ”

Richard Krauzlis, senior author of the study.         

Understanding the Early Stages of Visual Processingmay have implications for studying conditions in the brain that influence perception and visual attention. These findings could help treat diseases such as schizophrenia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).