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.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Eye Institute (NEI)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01EY003611-31
Application #
8512723
Study Section
Central Visual Processing Study Section (CVP)
Program Officer
Wiggs, Cheri
Project Start
1981-02-01
Project End
2016-07-31
Budget Start
2013-08-01
Budget End
2014-07-31
Support Year
31
Fiscal Year
2013
Total Cost
$356,250
Indirect Cost
$118,750
Name
University of Houston
Department
Type
Schools of Optometry/Ophthalmol
DUNS #
036837920
City
Houston
State
TX
Country
United States
Zip Code
77204
Hung, Li-Fang; Arumugam, Baskar; She, Zhihui et al. (2018) Narrow-band, long-wavelength lighting promotes hyperopia and retards vision-induced myopia in infant rhesus monkeys. Exp Eye Res 176:147-160
Hung, Li-Fang; Arumugam, Baskar; Ostrin, Lisa et al. (2018) The Adenosine Receptor Antagonist, 7-Methylxanthine, Alters Emmetropizing Responses in Infant Macaques. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 59:472-486
Beach, Krista M; Hung, Li-Fang; Arumugam, Baskar et al. (2018) Adenosine receptor distribution in Rhesus monkey ocular tissue. Exp Eye Res 174:40-50
Smith 3rd, Earl L; Hung, Li-Fang; Arumugam, Baskar et al. (2017) Observations on the relationship between anisometropia, amblyopia and strabismus. Vision Res 134:26-42
Wang, Ye; Zhang, Bin; Tao, Xiaofeng et al. (2017) Noisy Spiking in Visual Area V2 of Amblyopic Monkeys. J Neurosci 37:922-935
Arumugam, Baskar; Hung, Li-Fang; To, Chi-Ho et al. (2016) The Effects of the Relative Strength of Simultaneous Competing Defocus Signals on Emmetropization in Infant Rhesus Monkeys. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 57:3949-60
Smith 3rd, Earl L; Hung, Li-Fang; Arumugam, Baskar et al. (2015) Effects of Long-Wavelength Lighting on Refractive Development in Infant Rhesus Monkeys. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 56:6490-500
Arumugam, Baskar; Hung, Li-Fang; To, Chi-Ho et al. (2014) The effects of simultaneous dual focus lenses on refractive development in infant monkeys. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 55:7423-32
Tao, Xiaofeng; Zhang, Bin; Shen, Guofu et al. (2014) Early monocular defocus disrupts the normal development of receptive-field structure in V2 neurons of macaque monkeys. J Neurosci 34:13840-54
Smith 3rd, E L; Hung, L-F; Arumugam, B (2014) Visual regulation of refractive development: insights from animal studies. Eye (Lond) 28:180-8

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