FREE NEJM E-TOC    HOME   |   SUBSCRIBE   |   CURRENT ISSUE   |   PAST ISSUES   |   COLLECTIONS   |   Search Term  Advanced Search

Sign in | Get NEJM's E-Mail Table of Contents — Free | Subscribe

Previous Volume 312:1609-1615 June 20, 1985 Number 25 Next

	Add to Personal Archive Add to Citation Manager Notify a Friend E-mail When Cited PubMed Citation

Abstract

Myopia develops in macaque monkeys when their lids are surgically fused at birth and kept closed for one year. This experimental refractive error has many features in common with human myopia: It is caused by progressive axial elongation of the eye, is often accompanied by fundus changes, and can only be induced before eye growth has been completed. Myopia does not develop in animals raised in the dark; thus, it is triggered by an alteration of the visual input and is presumably mediated by the nervous system. In Macaca arctoides, atropine administration prevents abnormal eye elongation, and this suggests that lid-fusion myopia is caused by excessive accommodation. In M. mulatta, atropine is ineffective; furthermore, myopia develops when lids are sutured after interruption of the optic pathways. Thus, in this species accommodation can be ruled out as a determinant of eye elongation, and other neural mechanisms may be responsible for the refractive error. Our experiments suggest that the refractive state is largely programmed on a genetic basis, but that an abnormal visual experience can disrupt the process of postnatal eye growth and induce axial myopia.

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Smith, E. L. III, Huang, J., Hung, L.-F., Blasdel, T. L., Humbird, T. L., Bockhorst, K. H. (2009). Hemiretinal Form Deprivation: Evidence for Local Control of Eye Growth and Refractive Development in Infant Monkeys. IOVS 50: 5057-5069 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Smith, E. L. III, Ramamirtham, R., Qiao-Grider, Y., Hung, L.-F., Huang, J., Kee, C.-s., Coats, D., Paysse, E. (2007). Effects of Foveal Ablation on Emmetropization and Form-Deprivation Myopia. IOVS 48: 3914-3922 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Young, T. L., Metlapally, R., Shay, A. E. (2007). Complex Trait Genetics of Refractive Error. Arch Ophthalmol 125: 38-48 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Stone, R. A., Wilson, L. B., Ying, G.-s., Liu, C., Criss, J. S., Orlow, J., Lindstrom, J. M., Quinn, G. E. (2006). Associations between Childhood Refraction and Parental Smoking.. IOVS 47: 4277-4287 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Singh, K. D., Logan, N. S., Gilmartin, B. (2006). Three-dimensional modeling of the human eye based on magnetic resonance imaging.. IOVS 47: 2272-2279 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Tkatchenko, A. V., Walsh, P. A., Tkatchenko, T. V., Gustincich, S., Raviola, E. (2006). Form deprivation modulates retinal neurogenesis in primate experimental myopia. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 103: 4681-4686 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Duffy, K. R., Livingstone, M. S. (2005). Loss of Neurofilament Labeling in the Primary Visual Cortex of Monocularly Deprived Monkeys. Cereb Cortex 15: 1146-1154 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Troilo, D., Nickla, D. L. (2005). The Response to Visual Form Deprivation Differs with Age in Marmosets. IOVS 46: 1873-1881 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Qiao-Grider, Y., Hung, L.-F., Kee, C.-s., Ramamirtham, R., Smith, E. L. III (2004). Recovery from Form-Deprivation Myopia in Rhesus Monkeys. IOVS 45: 3361-3372 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Zhong, X., Ge, J., Nie, H., Smith, E. L. III (2004). Compensation for Experimentally Induced Hyperopic Anisometropia in Adolescent Monkeys. IOVS 45: 3373-3379 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Zhong, X., Ge, J., Smith, E. L. III, Stell, W. K. (2004). Image Defocus Modulates Activity of Bipolar and Amacrine Cells in Macaque Retina. IOVS 45: 2065-2074 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Weiss, A H (2003). Unilateral high myopia: optical components, associated factors, and visual outcomes. Br J Ophthalmol 87: 1025-1031 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Fernandes, A., Bradley, D. V., Tigges, M., Tigges, J., Herndon, J. G. (2003). Ocular Measurements throughout the Adult Life Span of Rhesus Monkeys. IOVS 44: 2373-2380 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Chakravarti, S., Paul, J., Roberts, L., Chervoneva, I., Oldberg, A., Birk, D. E. (2003). Ocular and Scleral Alterations in Gene-Targeted Lumican-Fibromodulin Double-Null Mice. IOVS 44: 2422-2432 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Fredrick, D. R (2002). Myopia. BMJ 324: 1195-1199 [Full Text]  
• Smith, E. L. III, Hung, L.-F., Kee, C.-s., Qiao, Y. (2002). Effects of Brief Periods of Unrestricted Vision on the Development of Form-Deprivation Myopia in Monkeys. IOVS 43: 291-299 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Lee, K. E., Klein, B. E. K., Klein, R., Fine, J. P. (2001). Aggregation of Refractive Error and 5-Year Changes in Refractive Error Among Families in the Beaver Dam Eye Study. Arch Ophthalmol 119: 1679-1685 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Tusa, R. J., Mustari, M. J., Burrows, A. F., Fuchs, A. F. (2001). Gaze-Stabilizing Deficits and Latent Nystagmus in Monkeys With Brief, Early-Onset Visual Deprivation: Eye Movement Recordings. J. Neurophysiol. 86: 651-661 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• FREDRICK, D. R (2001). Myopia: was mother right about reading in the dark?. Br J Ophthalmol 85: 509-510 [Full Text]  
• Stone, R. A., Sugimoto, R., Gill, A. S., Liu, J., Capehart, C., Lindstrom, J. M. (2001). Effects of Nicotinic Antagonists on Ocular Growth and Experimental Myopia. IOVS 42: 557-565 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Phillips, J. R., Khalaj, M., McBrien, N. A. (2000). Induced Myopia Associated with Increased Scleral Creep in Chick and Tree Shrew Eyes. IOVS 41: 2028-2034 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Troilo, D., Nickla, D. L., Wildsoet, C. F. (2000). Form Deprivation Myopia in Mature Common Marmosets (Callithrix jacchus). IOVS 41: 2043-2049 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Rada, J. A., Nickla, D. L., Troilo, D. (2000). Decreased Proteoglycan Synthesis Associated with Form Deprivation Myopia in Mature Primate Eyes. IOVS 41: 2050-2058 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Troilo, D., Nickla, D. L., Wildsoet, C. F. (2000). Choroidal Thickness Changes during Altered Eye Growth and Refractive State in a Primate. IOVS 41: 1249-1258 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• GUGGENHEIM, J. A, KIROV, G., HODSON, S. A (2000). The heritability of high myopia: a reanalysis of Goldschmidt's data. J. Med. Genet. 37: 227-231 [Full Text]  
• Rada, J. A., Perry, C. A., Slover, M. L., Achen, V. R. (1999). Gelatinase A and TIMP-2 Expression in the Fibrous Sclera of Myopic and Recovering Chick Eyes. IOVS 40: 3091-3099 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Culhane, H. M., Winn, B. (1999). Dynamic Accommodation and Myopia. IOVS 40: 1968-1974 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• YOUNG, J. D H (1999). Paediatric pseudophakia---choosing the implant power. Br J Ophthalmol 83: 258-259 [Full Text]  
• The Framingham Offspring Eye Study Group, (1996). Familial Aggregation and Prevalence of Myopia in the Framingham Offspring Eye Study. Arch Ophthalmol 114: 326-332 [Abstract]  
• Zadnik, K., Satariano, W. A., Mutti, D. O., Sholtz, R. I., Adams, A. J. (1994). The Effect of Parental History of Myopia on Children's Eye Size. JAMA 271: 1323-1327 [Abstract]  
• Norton, T. T. (1994). A New Focus on Myopia. JAMA 271: 1362-1363 [Abstract]  
• Weiss, A. H., Kousseff, B. G., Ross, E. A., Longbottom, J. (1989). Simple Microphthalmos. Arch Ophthalmol 107: 1625-1630 [Abstract]  
• Rasooly, R., BenEzra, D. (1988). Congenital and Traumatic Cataract: The Effect on Ocular Axial Length. Arch Ophthalmol 106: 1066-1068 [Abstract]  
• Rosner, M., Belkin, M. (1987). Intelligence, Education, and Myopia in Males. Arch Ophthalmol 105: 1508-1511 [Abstract]  
• Wallman, J, Gottlieb, M., Rajaram, V, Fugate-Wentzek, L. (1987). Local retinal regions control local eye growth and myopia. Science 237: 73-77 [Abstract]