Objectives

Despite extensive research on the optics of the eye and neuronal processing of the optical image that is projected on the retina, the following questions, related to our every-day visual experience, remain particularly exciting:

  1. the neural "image sharpening" mechanisms in the eye, their algorithms and time courses
  2. how the eye deals with the prominent effects of chromatic aberrations, whether they are useful or disturbing
  3. how defocus is detected and how it guides accommodation and emmetropization
  4. how spatial vision is limited by the optics at low luminances
  5. how spatial visual performance varies over the day, given that there are diurnal variations in eye length and intraocular pressure
  6. how scattering of light in the healthy eye limits contrast vision and glare

Solving these questions will not only lead to optimized optical corrections but also to a deeper understanding of visual functions.

Within the frame of 6 clusters, which are directly linked to the questions raised above, several Work Packages will be jointly performed by the network partners.

Complementarities and Synergies

Illustration of the complementarities and synergies among the network partners

Illustration of the complementarities and synergies among the network partners (NP). Within the frame of topically related clusters, several Work Packages (WP) will be jointly performed by the NPs; some NPs are not directly involved in a cluster but will give major support (indicated by *).