In animals and humans, a looming threat triggers the same kind of behavior – freezing followed by flight. The uniform nature of this response suggests that the perception and processing of approaching motion is clearly defined and embedded in the brain.
Scientists working with group leader Botond Roska at the FMI in Basel and at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris have now managed to identify a neural circuit in the retina that responds specifically to approaching objects and conveys this information immediately to the brain. Read More.