EFFECTS OF VIEWING DISTANCE ON EYE GROWTH & REFRACTIVE DEVELOPMENT

这个子项目是利用由NIH/NCRR资助的中心拨款提供的资源的许多研究子项目之一。子项目和调查员(PI)可能从另一个NIH来源获得了主要资金，因此可能会出现在其他CRISE条目中。列出的机构是针对中心的，而不一定是针对调查员的机构。虽然一个人从事近视工作(如阅读)的时间与近视发病率之间存在显著的正相关，但没有直接证据表明两者之间存在因果关系，而且这种关系的性质一个多世纪以来一直是个谜(出于伦理考虑，不能使用人类受试者通过实证研究直接解决这个问题)。本研究旨在确定长期从事近视工作是否会导致近视的发生。目标是确定适当的任务和行为设置，并确保光学性能是适当的。该项目取得了一些令人振奋的成果，这些成果正被用作最近提交的国家卫生研究院拨款申请的基础。简而言之，在行为任务训练开始之前，青春期恒河猴表现出几种程度的远视的稳定屈光不正，这对这个物种来说是正常的。在日常训练中，猴子们在S手臂附近的电脑上进行视觉辨别任务，以补充食物。随着时间的推移，所有3名受试者都经历了近视屈光不正的变化，表现出零或几乎为零的屈光不正。这些数据可能提供了第一个直接证据，证明长期从事近视工作与近视的发展有关。最近，我们验证了在任务执行过程中，猴子被聚焦在电脑屏幕上，这证实了任务的光学/视觉需求与阅读相似(即聚焦在附近)。这一猴子模型将使我们能够确定视觉任务的哪些方面对屈光发育和近视的发展有影响，并将被证明在预防近视或减缓其进展的临床工作中有用。

This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. While there is a significant positive correlation between the amounts of time a person engages in nearwork tasks (e.g. reading) and the incidence of myopia, there is no direct evidence of a causal association, and the nature of this relationship has remained a mystery for over a century (ethical considerations preclude the use of human subjects to address this question directly through empirical research). The present project was undertaken to determine whether prolonged performance of nearwork tasks could lead to the development of myopia. The objectives were to identify an appropriate task and behavioral setup and to ensure that optical performance was appropriate. This project yielded some exciting results, which are being used as the basis for a recently submitted NIH grant application. Briefly, prior to the onset of training on the behavioral task, adolescent rhesus monkeys exhibited a stable refractive error of a few degrees of hyperopia, which is the norm for this species. In daily sessions monkeys worked for food reinforcement on a visual discrimination task displayed on a computer located within arm¿s reach (at near). Over time, all 3 subjects have undergone a myopic shift in refractive error, exhibiting zero or nearly zero refractive error. These data may provide the first direct evidence that prolonged performance of a nearwork task is associated with the development of myopia. Recently, we have verified that during the performance of the task, the monkeys are focused on the computer screen, which confirms that the optical/visual demands of the task are similar to those of reading (i.e. focused at near). This monkey model will allow us to determine what aspects of the visual task contribute to the effects of refractive development and the development of myopia and will prove useful in clinical efforts to prevent myopia or reduce its progression.