Spectacle lenses alter eye growth and the refractive status of young monkeys

The influence of visual experience on ocular development in higher primates is not well understood. To investigate the possible role of defocus in regulating ocular growth, spectacle lenses were used to optically simulate refractive anomalies in young monkeys (for example, myopia or nearsightedness). Both positive and negative lenses produced compensating ocular growth that reduced the lens-induced refractive errors and, at least for low lens powers, minimized any refractive-error differences between the two eyes. These results indicate that the developing primate visual system can detect the presence of refractive anomalies and alter each eye's growth to eliminate these refractive errors. Moreover, these results support the hypothesis that spectacle lenses can alter eye development in young children.

[1]  E. Irving,et al.  Inducing Myopia, Hyperopia, and Astigmatism in Chicks , 1991, Optometry and vision science : official publication of the American Academy of Optometry.

[2]  J. Wallman,et al.  Local retinal regions control local eye growth and myopia. , 1987, Science.

[3]  P. Hendrickson,et al.  Accommodation demand and deprivation in kitten ocular development. , 1985, Investigative ophthalmology & visual science.

[4]  Earl L. Smith,et al.  Effects of chronic optical defocus on the kitten's refractive status , 1989, Vision Research.

[5]  A. Medina.  A model for emmetropization , 1987, Acta ophthalmologica.

[6]  P. Kiely,et al.  The effect of defocussing contact lenses on refraction in cynomolgus monkeys , 1988 .

[7]  K. M. Chung.  Critical review: effects of optical defocus on refractive development and ocular growth and relation to accommodation. , 1993, Optometry and vision science : official publication of the American Academy of Optometry.

[8]  V. Gk,et al.  Concomitant strabismus and cortical eye dominance in young rhesus monkeys. , 1979 .

[9]  E. Irving,et al.  Refractive plasticity of the developing chick eye , 1992, Ophthalmic & physiological optics : the journal of the British College of Ophthalmic Opticians.

[10]  F. Schaeffel,et al.  Mathematical model of emmetropization in the chicken. , 1988, Journal of the Optical Society of America. A, Optics and image science.

[11]  F. Schaeffel,et al.  Properties of the feedback loops controlling eye growth and refractive state in the chicken , 1991, Vision Research.

[12]  Howard C. Howland,et al.  Chromatic aberration and accommodation: their role in emmetropization in the chick , 1993, Vision Research.

[13]  Earl L. Smith,et al.  Observations on the effects of form deprivation on the refractive status of the monkey. , 1987, Investigative ophthalmology & visual science.

[14]  J. Wallman,et al.  Does experimentally-induced amblyopia cause hyperopia in monkeys? , 1995, Vision Research.

[15]  Earl L. Smith,et al.  Effects of optically induced blur on the refractive status of young monkeys , 1994, Vision Research.

[16]  P. Kiely,et al.  A comparison of ocular development of the Cynomolgus monkey and man , 1987 .

[17]  R. Ingram,et al.  Emmetropisation, squint, and reduced visual acuity after treatment. , 1991, The British journal of ophthalmology.

[18]  R. Held,et al.  Emmetropization and the progression of manifest refraction in children followed from infancy to puberty , 1993 .

[19]  J. Wallman,et al.  The regulation of eye growth and refractive state: An experimental study of emmetropization , 1991, Vision Research.

[20]  Martin S. Banks,et al.  Depth of focus, eye size and visual acuity , 1980, Vision Research.

[21]  J. Wallman,et al.  Developing eyes that lack accommodation grow to compensate for imposed defocus , 1990, Visual Neuroscience.

[22]  Torsten N. Wiesel,et al.  An animal model of myopia. , 1985, The New England journal of medicine.

[23]  H C Howland,et al.  Optics of Photoretinoscopy: Results from Ray Tracing , 1985, American journal of optometry and physiological optics.

[24]  Howard C. Howland,et al.  Natural accommodation in the growing chicken , 1986, Vision Research.

[25]  A. Medina.  A model for emmetropization: predicting the progression of ametropia. , 1987, Ophthalmologica. Journal international d'ophtalmologie. International journal of ophthalmology. Zeitschrift fur Augenheilkunde.

[26]  R G Boothe,et al.  Postnatal development of vision in human and nonhuman primates. , 1985, Annual review of neuroscience.

[27]  Adrian Glasser,et al.  Accommodation, refractive error and eye growth in chickens , 1988, Vision Research.

[28]  R S Harwerth,et al.  Spatial contrast sensitivity deficits in monkeys produced by optically induced anisometropia. , 1985, Investigative ophthalmology & visual science.

[29]  F. Schaeffel,et al.  Longitudinal chromatic aberration and emmetropization: results from the chicken eye. , 1992, The Journal of physiology.