Optically Induced Anisometropia

描述(申请人提供)：出生后不久，大多数婴儿的双眼出现最佳屈光不正(即“临床性”正视)，然后在整个童年和成年早期都保持这种状态。然而，由于目前尚不清楚的原因，越来越多的人患上了异常屈光不正。我们研究计划的长期目标是更好地了解常见人类屈光不正(例如近视或近视)的病因，并最终开发有效的光学治疗策略，以减少屈光不正的影响。我们提出的研究的具体目的是确定视觉体验如何影响屈光发育，并描述调节眼睛生长的视觉依赖机制的操作特性。由于许多必要的实验不能在人类身上进行，但我们的目的是产生可以应用于人类发展的知识，这些实验将使用恒河猴进行。受控饲养策略、光学和超声测量技术以及磁共振成像将用于确定：1)高环境光水平对眼睛生长的正视化和视觉依赖性变化的影响；2)相对外周近视对中心轴生长和屈光发育的影响；3)同时叠加竞争远视散焦(一种非常强的生长刺激)的相对近视散焦是否会阻碍轴向生长和促进远视。这些实验集中在关于视觉经验如何影响屈光发育的基本问题上，是确定视觉经验如何以及在多大程度上影响常见人类屈光不正的重要一步。更重要的是，这些研究的结果可能会为人类屈光不正的新治疗和管理策略提供基础。 公共卫生相关性：屈光不正，特别是近视或近视，是一个重大的公共卫生问题，因为除了与传统的光学和手术矫正方法相关的高昂成本和并发症外，屈光不正还可能导致永久性感觉障碍和导致失明的眼睛异常。此外，最近的证据表明，近视的流行及其对社会的影响正在迅速增加。因此，迫切需要有效的治疗策略来减少或消除屈光不正。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Soon after birth, most infants develop the optimal refractive error (i.e., "clinical" emmetropia) in both eyes that is then maintained throughout childhood and into early adult life. However, for reasons not currently understood, a significant and increasing proportion of the population develop abnormal refractive errors. The long-term goal of our research program is to provide a better understanding of the etiology of common human refractive errors (e.g., myopia or nearsightedness) and ultimately to develop effective optical treatment strategies that reduce the impact of refractive errors. The specific aims of our proposed research are to determine how visual experience affects refractive development and to characterize the operational properties of the vision-dependent mechanisms that regulate eye growth. Since many of the required experiments can not be conducted in humans, but our purpose is to generate knowledge that can be applied to human development, these experiments will be conducted using rhesus monkeys. Controlled rearing strategies, optical and ultrasonographic measurement techniques, and magnetic resonance imaging will be used to determine: 1) the effects of high ambient light levels on emmetropization and vision-dependent changes in eye growth, 2) the influence of relative peripheral myopia on central axial growth and refractive development, and 3) whether relative myopic defocus that is simultaneously superimposed on competing hyperopic defocus (a very strong stimulus for growth) can retard axial growth and promote hyperopia. The proposed experiments focus on fundamental issues concerning the manner in which visual experience influences refractive development and are an important step in determining how and to what extent visual experience contributes to the genesis of common human refractive errors. More importantly, the results of these studies will potentially provide the foundation for new treatment and management strategies for human refractive errors. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Refractive errors, in particular myopia or nearsightedness, are a significant public health concern because, in addition to the high costs and the complications associated with traditional optical and surgical correction strategies, refractive errors can lead to permanent sensory disorders and ocular abnormalities causing blindness. Moreover, recent evidence suggests that the prevalence of myopia, and consequently its impact on society, is increasing rapidly. Hence, effective treatment strategies to reduce or eliminate refractive errors are urgently needed.