Chandna Lab (SEELAB)

                                                                    External Collaborators

Our laboratory investigates mechanisms of normal and abnormal vision and ocular motility in children and adults with special emphasis on cerebral visual impairment, acquired brain injury, strabismus and amblyopia. Our aim is to improve detection, diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes in childhood eye disease through rigorous scientific research.

There is a strong emphasis on translational research. We investigate globaly common eye diseases in children and in adults associated with long-term visual loss and morbidity with high socioeconomic costs and impacts. 

What is CVI?

Cerebral (sometimes known as Cortical) Visual Impairment is an overarching term covering a wide range of visual and perceptual visual impairments resulting from injury or dysfunction of visual pathways. While CVI can be caused by a wide variety of factors, most common is a lack of oxygen to the brain shortly before, during, or shortly after birth. CVI can be difficult to diagnose, as the eye itself may have average to near average vision. Children with CVI tend to have vision that improves over time, as their neuro pathways are elastic and can create alternate pathways to process the information perceived by the eye itself. Early diagnosis for CVI can be especially helpful as it speeds family support and professional intervention, allowing children to take advantage of learning environments that suit their needs and expand their capacity to process visual information.  

In the SEELAB, we use visual electrophysiology/EEG methods and with eyetrackers and infrared photorefractor we measure eye movements and accommodation simultaneously.

EEG Stimuli Video: 

Current projects:

Our projects involve remote telephone/video interviews and, in our physical laboratory we use non-invasive, quantitative methods, including: low-channel and high-density EEG steady-state visual evoked potentials (SSVEP); eye tracking and photorefraction in correlation with clinical findings: 

• Cerebral Visual Impairment (CVI): Exploring three levels visual function deficits (HVFDs) in children with mild to moderate CVI
• Amblyopia and/or Strabismus : Studying mechanisms of visual function loss and recovery in amblyopia and strabismus
• Strabismus: Studying mechanisms of vergence and accommodation in strabismus and other clinical conditions (CVI, TBI)
• Eye Dominance: Role ocular dominance, sensory and motor, in oculomotor stability.
• Reading studies wih simultaneous messures of oculomotor control and accommodaton..
• Monocular Visual Loss: Comparing monocular and binocular sensory and motor functions
• Assessment and Intervention: Developing applications for visual assessment and training in babies and young children.