 The Neural Integrator is Resettable
Louis F. Dell'Osso, Ph.D., is a Professor of Neurology and Biomedical Engineering at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and a biomedical engineer and Director and Principal Investigator of the Daroff-Dell'Osso Ocular Motility Laboratory at the Louis Stokes Cleveland Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center with continuous VA Merit Review funding since 1973. After graduating from Brooklyn Technical High School in 1957, Dr. Dell'Osso did his undergraduate training in Electrical Engineering at the Polytechnic Institute of New York (formerly, Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute) and his graduate studies in Electrical and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Wyoming. He was on the faculty of the Departments of Biomedical Engineering and Neurology at the University of Miami from 1970 to 1980. Dr. Dell'Osso has studied congenital nystagmus, acquired nystagmus, and other types of ocular motor oscillations for over three decades. His 'top-down' control-systems approach reflects his educational background and has provided a needed alternative view to the 'bottom-up' approach used by others. His philosophy of elucidating normal ocular motor function by studying abnormal function has provided insights into the functional architecture of ocular motor subsystems and overall ocular motor behavior. This is especially reflected in computer models of ocular motor function and dysfunction that simulate not only the specific oscillations recorded from patients and animal models but also the ocular motor behavior they exhibit. Consistent with his engineering training, Dr. Dell'Osso has translated his 'basic' research findings into clinically useful diagnostic eye-movement signs and therapeutic approaches, both optical and surgical. By concentrating on studying function rather than specific diseases or patient populations, he was able to translate clinically effective therapies for congenital nystagmus into equally effective therapies for acquired nystagmus. This type of research is not accurately described by the classical terms, 'basic' or 'clinical;' it is, however, the prototype for translational research. |