Dr. Brandon received his B.S. in Biology from Northwestern University in 1969, and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in 1974. His postdoctoral research was carried out in the Laboratory of Functional Neuroanatomy at the National Institutes of Health, and in the Department of Cell Biology at Baylor Medical School. From 1980 to 1983, he was an Assistant Professor in the Departments of Anatomy and Ophthalmology at the Oregon Health Sciences University; he joined the faculty of the University of Health Sciences/The Chicago Medical School in 1984.

Research

The long-range goal of Dr. Brandon's research is an understanding of mechanisms of neural computation. Using the eye as a model for the brain, this work is concerned with determining how certain visual neurons distinguish the direction of motion of a visual stimulus, in both vertebrate and invertebrate visual systems.

In vertebrates, these directionally-sensitive neurons provide the brain with visually-derived information about the movement of the eye with respect to the real world; this information is then used in reflexes that control gaze. Similar neurons have been observed in the visual systems of crustaceans and insects.

The neuronal circuitry responsible for directional selectivity resides completely within the retina (in vertebrates) or the optic lobe (in invertebrates), and involves interactions among directional neurons and cholinergic and/or GABAergic interneurons. Dr. Brandon's research employs immunocytochemical methods and electron microscopy to identify the detailed connections among these cell types.

Contact information

Christopher Brandon, Ph.D.
Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy
The Chicago Medical School
3333 Green Bay Road
North Chicago, Illinois 60064

Email: christopher.brandon@rosalindfranklin.edu
Phone: (847) 578-3286
Fax: (847) 578-3253