Local Retinal Regions Control Local Eye Growth and Myopia

Wallman, Josh; Gottlieb, Michael D.; Rajaram, V; Fugate-Wentzek, Lisa A.

doi:10.1126/science.3603011

Cited by 431 publications

(238 citation statements)

References 39 publications

(22 reference statements)

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“…As shown first in chickens by Wallman et al, 44 when visual manipulations that influence eye growth (eg, form deprivation, 44,45 myopic defocus 46,47 or hyperopic defocus 47,48 ) are imposed across only half the visual field, the resulting alterations in refractive error and vitreous chamber growth are restricted to the treated hemi retina. For example, when form deprivation, a strong stimulus for axial growth, is imposed across the entire visual field, the eye becomes more prolate in shape with the greatest increase in vitreous chamber depth found in the central retina with smaller symmetrical increases in the nasal and temporal retina (Figure 2 left).…”

Section: Refractive Development Is Regulated In a Locus-specific Mannermentioning

confidence: 99%

Visual regulation of refractive development: insights from animal studies

Smith

Hung

Arumugam

2013

Eye

100

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Investigations employing animal models have demonstrated that ocular growth and refractive development are regulated by visual feedback. In particular, lens compensation experiments in which treatment lenses are used to manipulate the eye's effective refractive state have shown that emmetropization is actively regulated by signals produced by optical defocus. These observations in animals are significant because they indicate that it should be possible to use optical treatment strategies to influence refractive development in children, specifically to slow the rate of myopia progression. This review highlights some of the optical performance properties of the vision-dependent mechanisms that regulate refractive error development, especially those that are likely to influence the efficacy of optical treatment strategies for myopia. In this respect, the results from animal studies have been very consistent across species; however, to facilitate extrapolation to clinical settings, results are presented primarily for nonhuman primates. In agreement with preliminary clinical trials, the experimental data show that imposed myopic defocus can slow ocular growth and that treatment strategies that influence visual signals over a large area of the retina are likely to be most effective. Eye (2014) 28, 180-188; doi:10.1038/eye.2013.277; published online 13 December 2013Keywords: myopia; hyperopia; defocus; emmetropization Curtin 1 credits Kepler with being one of the first vision scientists to recognize the association between near work and myopia and for hypothesizing that myopia was an adaptation to near work. Although these seminal observations (circa 1610) have been replicated numerous times and much has been learnt about potential risk factors for the development of common forms of myopia, centuries of research on myopia in humans have failed to provide a clear indication of what it is about near work that promotes the development of myopia or to identify the physiological mechanisms that promote myopia in children as a result of chronic near work. However, beginning in the 1960s, research employing animal models was greatly expanded and began to provide new insights into the effects of visual experience on ocular growth and refractive development.The nature of the visual manipulations that have been employed to characterize refractive development in animals fall into three broad categories. The first category involved either natural or imposed restrictions in viewing distance and was largely motivated by the near work hypothesis. For example, comparisons of refractive errors between feral and domesticated or laboratory-reared animals supported the idea that environments that restrict viewing distance are myopiagenic. 2,3 However, these studies suffered from many of the same confounding issues associated with human studies. 4 A more controlled line of research was begun by Levinsohn 5 and continued most notably by Young, 6-9 who demonstrated that monkeys reared in environments with a maximum viewing distance o...

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Section: Refractive Development Is Regulated In a Locus-specific Mannermentioning

confidence: 99%

Visual regulation of refractive development: insights from animal studies

Smith

Hung

Arumugam

2013

Eye

100

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…(ii) Application of a partial occluder in chicks to restrict vision either in the nasal or temporal visual field induces excessive eye growth only along the corresponding ocular dimension. For example, occlusion of the nasal visual field causes excessive growth of the temporal part of the globe (14)(15)(16). We now report in avian myopia that neonatal deprivation of form vision alters retinal dopamine metabolism at the same time as the eye enlarges.…”

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confidence: 99%

Retinal dopamine and form-deprivation myopia.

Stone

Lin

Laties

et al. 1989

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

360

323

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Investigation of retinal neurochemistry in a well-defined chick model of form-deprivation myopia indicated that dopamine and its metabolite 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid are reduced in myopic as compared to control eyes. The reduction in retinal dopamine is evident only during light adaptation and is accompanied by a decreased rate ofdopamine biosynthesis. To test whether the alteration in dopamine metabolism is related to eye growth, agents known to interact with dopamine receptors were administered locally to deprived eyes. Remarkably, the expected growth in the axial dimension was reduced, while that in the equatorial dimension was not. Therefore retinal dopamine may participate in the pathway linking visual experience and the postnatal regulation of the eye's growth in the axial dimension. The mechanism for control of chick eye growth in the equatorial dimension remains unknown.Eye growth during normal childhood development coordinates with progressive changes in the optical power of the cornea and lens to maintain image focus on the plane of the retina (1). Observations after unilateral visual deprivation have indicated that retinal image quality influences postnatal growth. Deprivation of form vision in juvenile monkeys (2-4), chicks (5-9), or humans (10-12) disrupts normal regulation and leads to excessive eye size; distant images now focus in front of the retina, causing a myopic refractive error. This link of visual quality to eye size implicates the nervous system in growth control. Moreover, recent observations hint that such control is largely local. (i) Form-deprivation myopia in both monkeys and chicks takes place even after optic nerve transection interrupts the direct pathway from retina to brain (3, 13). (ii) Application of a partial occluder in chicks to restrict vision either in the nasal or temporal visual field induces excessive eye growth only along the corresponding ocular dimension. For example, occlusion of the nasal visual field causes excessive growth of the temporal part of the globe (14-16). We now report in avian myopia that neonatal deprivation of form vision alters retinal dopamine metabolism at the same time as the eye enlarges. Under the identical condition, ocular administration of dopaminerelated agents hinders the expected elongation of the eye in the axial but not in the equatorial dimension. These findings buttress the hypothesis of local growth control and suggest the participation of retinal dopamine in the regulatory sequence. They also speak for separate mechanisms underlying the regulation of axial and equatorial growth of the eye.

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“…Previous research demonstrated that in the process of myopic optical defocus, a cascade system might be built by neurotransmitters from the retinal pigment epithelium to melanocytes in the choroid, which might induce a change in the choroid. 28,29 We speculated that structural changes in the choroid may be explained by visual information being transferred through neurotransmitters from the retina to the choroid following visual recovery after surgery. Moreover, choroid contains numerous larger blood vessels.…”

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confidence: 99%

Change in choroidal thickness and the relationship with accommodation following myopic excimer laser surgery

Cheng

Yuan

et al. 2016

Eye

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Purpose To investigate early changes in choroidal thickness (CT) and the relationship with accommodation after myopic excimer laser surgery. Methods We enrolled the right eye of 70 patients with myopia and without other ophthalmic or systemic diseases who were suitable for myopic excimer laser surgery. The CT was measured at the fovea and at distances of 0.5 and 2.5 mm for the following: nasal; temporal; superior; and inferior to the fovea preoperatively and at 1 month postoperatively. Other data collected included demographic information (age, sex, and refractive error), the amplitude of accommodation (AA), intraocular pressure, axial length, corneal thickness, and surgical parameters. The data were analyzed with a paired Student's t-test, stepwise linear regression, and correlation analysis. Results The CT was significantly thicker postoperatively compared with the preoperative CT. The AA significantly decreased postoperatively. The change in the AA was the most significant factor associated with the change in the CT at the fovea. Except for 2.5 mm inferior to the fovea, the increase in the CT at other locations was positively correlated with the decrease in the AA. Conclusions The CT increased following myopic excimer laser surgery and the change was most obvious when accompanied by a decrease in the AA early after the surgery.

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Local Retinal Regions Control Local Eye Growth and Myopia

Cited by 431 publications

References 39 publications

Visual regulation of refractive development: insights from animal studies

Visual regulation of refractive development: insights from animal studies

Retinal dopamine and form-deprivation myopia.

Change in choroidal thickness and the relationship with accommodation following myopic excimer laser surgery

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