Dr. Deborah Zelinsky

Dr. Deborah Zelinsky

Deborah Zelinsky, O.D. is an optometrist noted worldwide for her work in neuro-optometric rehabilitation. She serves as founder and research director of the Mind-Eye Institute, based in Northbrook, Illinois. The Institute provides a platform for her to continue studies of how changes in ambient lighting affect brain function which impacts a person’s spatial awareness, movement, and selective attention to sound. Her global reputation is due, in part, to her development of the Z-Bell Test?, a revolutionary method of evaluating a patient’s overall spatial processing and ability to integrate retinal signals with perception of auditory space. The test allows Dr. Zelinsky and her team to prescribe lenses and other optometric interventions that normalize the balance between central and peripheral receptors in the retina, while enhancing the interaction between eyes and ears. Studies show that autistic children do not synchronize eyes and ears, and in the upcoming second edition of “Outsmarting Autism”, Patricia Lemer mentions the Z-Bell? testing. In addition to her work with the Mind-Eye Institute, Dr. Zelinsky is a fellow in both the College of Optometrists in Vision Development and the Neuro-Optometric Rehabilitation Association, a member of the Society for Brain Mapping and a community leader for the Society of Neuroscience.