“The spinal cord isn’t just a passive relay station executing brain commands”, says Susana Lima, Principal Investigator of CF’s Neuroethology Lab and senior author of the study. “It integrates sensory inputs, responds to arousal, and adjusts its output based on the animal’s internal state. It’s much more sophisticated than we imagined”.

These three institutions stand out for their complementary and comprehensive work, which over decades has promoted eye health and reduced the burden of visual impairment, especially in the most disadvantaged regions of the world.