Dr. Shai Sabbah Laboratory
What we think we do
Beyond forming images, light provides the brain with continuous information about the external world – signaling safety or threat, shaping alertness and motivation, and influencing how we learn from experience. We study how these variations are transformed by the nervous system into signals that guide emotion, cognition, and motivation.
To address this question, we investigate the structure and function of specific retinal and brain circuits using complementary rodent models, including the nocturnal mouse and the diurnal sand rat. By integrating analyses across multiple levels, we link neural activity to behavior and mental state.
Our work combines anatomical mapping of neural circuits with physiological and functional measurements of neural and neurotransmitter activity, targeted manipulation of defined cell types and pathways, and quantitative behavioral assays to examine how visual and light-related signals are processed in the brain.
In parallel, our human research integrates behavioral measures with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine how light intensity information influences brain activity in higher-order brain regions.
By bridging animal and human studies, we aim to uncover shared principles by which neural circuits convert visual information into meaningful brain signals that shape behavior and experience across species.
Luminance Encoding in the Human Brain
The prefrontal cortex (PFC) is a central hub for executive control, integrating cognitive, emotional, and motivational processes that support flexible behavior and social interaction. Disruption of PFC function is implicated in a wide range of neuropsychiatric disorders, including anxiety, depression, addiction, and schizophrenia. Notably, many functions governed by the PFC are strongly influenced by environmental […]
Light–Mood Networks in Diurnal Mammals
Disrupted lighting – such as excessive nighttime light, irregular schedules, or short winter days – can increase the risk of depression and anxiety, while carefully timed light exposure can improve mood and even enhance antidepressant treatments. Yet we still know very little about how light reaches mood-regulating brain areas, or why its effects differ between […]
From Light to Fear: How the Brain Learns Safety
Animals and humans must quickly learn what is dangerous and what is safe in order to survive. This kind of “fear learning” depends on a brain region called the prefrontal cortex, which helps us form, control, and erase fearful memories. Surprisingly, recent work shows that this brain area is sensitive to how bright the surrounding […]
How Light Supports Focus, Decision-Making, and Mental Readiness
In many real-world settings, people are required to stay alert, make rapid decisions, and maintain focus under challenging conditions such as irregular schedules, fatigue, and high cognitive load. Light is a powerful environmental signal that directly affects the brain systems responsible for attention, executive control, and mental readiness – but these effects are still poorly […]
Luminance-Dependent Modulation of Retinal Function
The mammalian retina maintains high sensitivity over an extraordinary range of luminance levels, ranging from starlight to bright sunlight. This is achieved by switching between the rod and cone systems, and within each system, by employing light adaptation mechanisms that preserve a contrast-invariant response. While dopamine is known to modulate retinal network activity in proportion […]
Direction selectivity in the retina and brain
Visual motion tells us how objects are moving in the world, and how we are moving within that world. Our work has recently transformed the understanding of this system’s architecture in the context of the whole animal. We studied how the global geometry of retinal direction selectivity relates to optic flow induced by self-motion. By […]