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Purpose: To create a simplified model of the eye by which we can specify a key optical characteristic of the crystalline lens, namely its power., Methods: Cycloplegic refraction and axial length were obtained in 60 eyes of 30 healthy subjects at eccentricities spanning 40° nasal to 40° temporal and were fitted with a three-dimensional parabolic model. Keratometric values and geometric distances to the cornea, lens and retina from 45 eyes supplied a numerical ray tracing model. Posterior lens curvature (PLC) was found by optimising the refractive data using a fixed lens equivalent refractive index ( n eq ). Then, n eq was found using a fixed PLC., Results: Eccentric refractive errors were relatively hyperopic in eyes with central refractions ≤-1.44 D but relatively myopic in emmetropes and hyperopes. Posterior lens power, which cannot be measured directly, was derived from the optimised model lens. There was a weak, negative association between derived PLC and central spherical equivalent refraction. Regardless of refractive error, the posterior retinal curvature remained fixed., Conclusions: By combining both on- and off-axis refractions and eye length measurements, this simplified model enabled the specification of posterior lens power and captured off-axis lenticular characteristics. The broad distribution in off-axis lens power represents a notable contrast to the relative stability of retinal curvature., (© 2023 College of Optometrists.)

Purpose: To determine whether visual experience can alter ocular shape and peripheral refractive error pattern, the authors investigated the effects of form deprivation on refractive development in infant rhesus monkeys., Methods: Monocular form deprivation was imposed in 10 rhesus monkeys by securing diffuser lenses in front of their treated eyes between 22 +/- 2 and 163 +/- 17 days of age. Each eye's refractive status was measured longitudinally by retinoscopy along the pupillary axis and at 15 degrees intervals along the horizontal meridian to eccentricities of 45 degrees . Control data for peripheral refraction were obtained from the nontreated fellow eyes and six untreated monkeys. Near the end of the diffuser-rearing period, the shape of the posterior globe was assessed by magnetic resonance imaging. Central axial dimensions were also determined by A-scan ultrasonography., Results: Form deprivation produced interocular differences in central refractive errors that varied between +2.69 and -10.31 D (treated eye-fellow eye). All seven diffuser-reared monkeys that developed at least 2.00 D of relative central axial myopia also showed relative hyperopia in the periphery that increased in magnitude with eccentricity. Alterations in peripheral refraction were highly correlated with eccentricity-dependent changes in vitreous chamber depth and the shape of the posterior globe., Conclusions: Like humans with myopia, monkeys with form-deprivation myopia exhibit relative peripheral hyperopia and eyes that are less oblate and more prolate. Thus, in addition to producing central refractive errors, abnormal visual experience can alter the shape of the posterior globe and the pattern of peripheral refractive errors in infant primates.

Purpose: To characterize the temporal integration properties of the emmetropization process, the authors investigated the effects of brief daily interruptions of lens wear on the ocular compensation for negative lenses in infant rhesus monkeys., Methods: Eighteen monkeys wore -3 D lenses binocularly starting from approximately 3 weeks of age. Six of these monkeys wore the lenses continuously. For the other animals, the -3 D lenses were removed for four 15-minute periods each day. During these periods, the monkeys viewed through either zero-power lenses (n = 6) or +4.5 D lenses (n = 6). Three monkeys reared with binocular plano lenses and 16 monkeys reared normally served as controls. Refractive development was assessed by cycloplegic retinoscopy and A-scan ultrasonography., Results: As expected, the group of animals that wore the -3 D lenses continuously exhibited clear evidence of compensating axial myopia. These predictable myopic changes were mostly eliminated by the brief, daily periods of viewing through plano lenses. Interestingly, brief periods of viewing through +4.5 D lenses produced weaker protective effects., Conclusions: Brief periods of unrestricted vision can prevent the axial myopia normally produced by long daily periods of imposed hyperopic defocus. Thus, the temporal integration properties of the emmetropization process normally reduce the likelihood that transient periods of hyperopic defocus will cause myopia.

Purpose: Astigmatism is the most common ametropia found in humans and is often associated with large spherical ametropias. However, little is known about the etiology of astigmatism or the reason(s) for the association between spherical and astigmatic refractive errors. This study examines the frequency and characteristics of astigmatism in infant monkeys that developed axial ametropias as a result of altered early visual experience., Methods: Data were obtained from 112 rhesus monkeys that experienced a variety of lens-rearing regimens that were intended to alter the normal course of emmetropization. These visual manipulations included form deprivation (n = 13); optically imposed defocus (n = 48); and continuous ambient lighting with (n = 6) or without optically imposed defocus (n = 6). In addition, data from 19 control monkeys and 39 infants reared with an optically imposed astigmatism were used for comparison purposes. The lens-rearing period started at approximately 3 weeks of age and ended by 4 to 5 months of age. Refractive development for all monkeys was assessed periodically throughout the treatment and subsequent recovery periods by retinoscopy, keratometry, and A-scan ultrasonography., Results: In contrast to control monkeys, the monkeys that had experimentally induced axial ametropias frequently developed significant amounts of astigmatism (mean refractive astigmatism = 0.37 +/- 0.33 D [control] vs. 1.24 +/- 0.81 D [treated]; two-sample t-test, p < 0.0001), especially when their eyes exhibited relative hyperopic shifts in refractive error. The astigmatism was corneal in origin (Pearson's r; p < 0.001 for total astigmatism and the JO and J45 components), and the axes of the astigmatism were typically oblique and bilaterally mirror symmetric. Interestingly, the astigmatism was not permanent; the majority of the monkeys exhibited substantial reductions in the amount of astigmatism at or near the end of the lens-rearing procedures., Conclusions: In infant monkeys, visual conditions that alter axial growth can also alter corneal shape. Similarities between the astigmatic errors in our monkeys and some astigmatic errors in humans suggest that vision-dependent changes in eye growth may contribute to astigmatism in humans.