Abstract

 

The eye as a windows to the brain

The eye not only can be regarded as a window to the soul, but also as a window to the brain. Retinal measures of vascular and neuronal function and structure are biologically plausible biomarkers for the monitoring of cerebral neurodegenerative changes because the retina and the brain have a shared embryology, and both have many anatomical and physiological similarities. Indeed, early structural retinal neurodegenerative changes have been found to be associated with MRI-assessed markers of cerebral neurodegeneration, cognitive decline and dementia. In this presentation, research on the relationship between eye and brain factors will be discussed that have been studied within the Maastricht Study.

 

Bio

Tos received a Ph.D. in Applied Physics at the University of Nijmegen in 1989. From 1989 to 1992 he worked at the High Field Magnet Laboratory in Nijmegen and from 1992 to 2004 at the Department of Ophthalmology at the University Medical Center Utrecht, the Netherlands. Currently he is associate professor at the University Eye Clinic Maastricht. His overall research theme is to study the functional morphology of the human retina by non-invasive optical techniques. It also involves (spectroscopic) imaging of the human retina, analysis of clinical data and development of physiological models. Recent work involves the development of new non-invasive measurements techniques for both fundamental and clinical research in ophthalmology, and epidemiological studies on the relation between nutrition, macular pigment and age-related eye diseases. A particular field of interest is the development of retinal image analysis using innovative, newly developed and robust brain-inspired mathematical algorithms.