Biomedical subjects

E L Irving

Publications and source records attributed to E L Irving.

13 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2000

Effects of experimentally induced ametropia on the morphology and optical quality of the avian crystalline lens.

PURPOSE: To examine the effects of refractive error on avian lens morphology and optical quality. METHODS: Hatchling white leghorn chicks were unilaterally goggled for 7 days with either a form-deprivation goggle (n = 12), a -10 D defocus goggle (n = 12), or a +10 D defocus goggle (n = 12) to induce myopia and hyperopia. Optical quality of lenses (focal length and focal length variability) from treated and contralateral control eyes was assessed using a scanning laser apparatus. Lens morphology was examined by light and electron microscopy. RESULTS: Although the induction of refractive errors did not significantly alter lens size, shape, paraxial focal length, or average focal length, average focal length variability increased. Lenses from eyes goggled with form-deprivation and +10 D defocus goggles demonstrated a twofold increase in average focal length variability, when compared with their contralateral controls. The morphology of the lens is not altered by these experimental manipulations. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides evidence that the refractive development of the chick lens is not independent of the refractive development of the ocular globe and that chick lenticular development is influenced by both genetics and visual experience.

Animals↗

PubMed1999

Afocal magnification does not influence chick eye development.

In defocus-induced ametropia experiments, retinal blur circles are a likely source of information as to the magnitude but not the sign of the defocus. However, magnification (and minification) produced by the lenses may be a cue. In this study, 1-day-old broiler chicks (N = 13) were treated monocularly for 7 days with special goggles containing approximately afocal iseikonic lenses which were designed to produce 10% retinal image magnification. This is a little less than the magnification produced by +10 D defocusing lenses used to produce about 10 D of hyperopia in earlier work. Intraocular dimensions of both eyes were measured by A-scan ultrasonography on the first and last day. Refractive states of both eyes were measured daily with a retinoscope and trial lenses. After the birds were sacrificed, the eyes were enucleated, weighed, and measured with calipers. Before the treatment there was no difference in the refractive state or dimensions of the right and left eyes. After 1 week of goggle wear there was still no significant difference between the eyes in spite of the magnification produced by the goggles. These data suggest that factors other than magnification are responsible for the ability of the eye to respond to the sign of defocus.

Accommodation, Ocular↗

PubMed1998

Vertical latent nystagmus component and vertical saccadic asymmetries in subjects with dissociated vertical deviation.

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to quantify the vertical component of a latent nystagmus observed in subjects with dissociated vertical deviation (DVD), as well as to provide further evidence for vertical saccadic asymmetries in these individuals. METHODS: Binocular eye movements of subjects with DVD were recorded in two dimensions using a noninvasive video-based eye tracker while cover/uncover tests, alternate cover tests, and vertical saccades were performed. RESULTS: A small amplitude (1.5 degrees or less) vertical component of latent nystagmus can be observed in some subjects with DVD and is larger in the deviating eye than in the viewing eye. The frequency of the vertical nystagmus component is the same in each eye for any given fixation condition but may change depending on which eye is fixating. DVD in the presence of a vertical component of latent nystagmus can be adequately modeled by the algebraic sum of an exponentially decreasing velocity DVD and a nystagmus with an exponentially decreasing slow phase velocity. In general, the occluded eyes of DVD subjects make smaller downward saccades than the viewing eyes. CONCLUSIONS: It is possible but not obligatory that DVD subjects will have a vertical component of latent nystagmus. Algebraic summation of an exponentially decreasing velocity DVD and a vertical component of latent nystagmus provides a more parsimonious explanation of the observed saccadic eye movements than modeling the DVD itself as a combination of vergence and saccadic movements. Subjects with DVD show a range of saccadic yoking from nearly complete saccadic conjugacy to nearly complete dissociation.

Adult↗

PubMed1998

Scattering properties of Bagolini lenses and their effects on spatial vision.

The effect of a Bagolini lens on spatial vision was investigated by studying its far-field diffraction pattern as produced by a coherent beam of laser light, and its effect on the contrast sensitivity function (CSF) in human subjects. For lenses of the main type studied, which were crossed by a series of slightly-irregular striated bands, each consisting of fine, parallel, etched lines of various widths and separations, the diffraction pattern consisted of undiffracted light giving a bright central spot and wide-angle, diffracted light giving a dim streak. The latter was due to the sum of the diffraction patterns associated by the irregular fine etched lines. The streak produced by a single striated band was modulated by a series of regular maxima and minima related to the width of the band. Analysis of this pattern gave the width of the band as 0.6 mm, in close agreement with direct microscopical measurements. When four bands were illuminated by a beam of about 3 mm diameter, similar to the diameter of the photopic pupil, the diffraction pattern showed no obvious maxima and minima, due to irregularity in the width and separation of the bands. The central spot contained more than 90% of the total light in the diffraction pattern. Thus the Bagolini lens, with its relatively weak far-field diffraction pattern lacking regular maxima and minima when areas > or = 3 mm in diameter were used, was expected to have only a small effect on the apparent contrast of the targets in CSF experiments. This was confirmed by the measurements: Bagolini lenses showed no significant effect on either the monocular or binocular CSF. Further similar measurements with lenses of slightly different design from another manufacturer confirmed these findings. Therefore Bagolini lenses do not disrupt vision when they are used to determine the presence of suppression and anomalous retinal correspondence.

Contrast Sensitivity↗

PubMed1997

Vertical eye position control in darkness: orbital position and body orientation interact to modulate drift velocity.

How stable is vertical eye-in-head position control in darkness when no visual targets are present? We evaluated this while varying both body-in-space orientation and eye-in-orbit position in six subjects who were free from oculomotor/vestibular disease. Vertical eye movements were monitored using a CCD-video tracking system, and results were confirmed on one subject with the magnetic search coil. Three body orientations were used: (1) seated upright; (2) supine; and (3) prone. In each of these body orientations starting eye-in-orbit position was varied in quasi-random order from -20 to +20 deg, while vertical eye drift was monitored for a 90 sec period at each position. Subjects were instructed to hold their eyes as steady as possible. The relationship between body orientation/eye position and vertical eye drift velocity was examined using a linear regression technique. In contrast to prior clinical reports, normals exhibit a vertical nystagmus/drift in darkness. Moreover, slow-phase eye velocity was found to be dependent on eye-in-orbit position in the upright and supine body orientations. This pattern of eye drift mirrors Alexander's Law, with significantly increased drift velocities when subjects looked in the direction of their re-centering saccades (P < 0.05 or better). Body-in-space orientation also modulated the eye drift velocity, with significant differences in rate of eye drift (P < 0.05 or better) between extremes of body orientation (supine and prone) for five out of six subjects. The stability of the vertical oculomotor control system in the absence of visual input is strongly affected by body-in-space orientation and eye-in-orbit position: manipulating either of these variables results in non-random patterns of drift. These results are discussed using a multiple-input model of vertical eye-in-head position control.

Adult↗

PubMed1996

Chick eye optics: zero to fourteen days.

Ocular dimensions and refractive state data for chicks 0 to 14 days of age were obtained from 234 untreated control eyes of birds treated unilaterally in previous work involving various defocussing lenses and/or translucent goggles. Refractive state and corneal curvatures were measured in vivo by retinoscopy and ophthalmometry respectively. Intraocular dimensions were measured by A-scan ultrasonography, after which the eyes were removed, weighed and measured. In some cases (n = 52) intraocular dimensions and lens curvatures were obtained from frozen sections of enucleated eyes. The hyperopia of hatchling chicks (+6.5 +/- 4.0 D) initially decreases rapidly and then more gradually to +2.0 +/- 0.5 D by 16 days. The distribution of refractive errors is very broad at Day 0, but becomes leptokurtotic, with a slight myopic skew, by Day 14. Corneal radius is constant for the first four days, possible as a result of pre-hatching lid pressure, and then increases linearly, as do all lens dimensions, axial diameter and equatorial diameter. Schematic eyes were developed for Days 0, 7, and 14.

Animals↗

PubMed1996

Influences of monocular image degradation on the monocular components of fixation disparity.

The monocular components of the forced vergence fixation disparity curve were evaluated for equal retinal images and for two kinds of monocular retinal image degradation. Computer-generated nonius lines were used to measure the fixation disparity curve components. Monocular defocus was obtained by placing convex lenses before one eye. In the second instance monocular image degradation was achieved by placing light-scattering filters before one eye. A small percentage of subjects displayed unequal distribution of the monocular components of fixation disparity with no image degradation. For both conditions of monocular image degradation, the distribution of the monocular components was found to be biased in favor of the clear image. However, defocus, which affects the high spatial frequencies relatively more than scatter, was found to have a greater effect on the distribution of the monocular components of fixation disparity than scatter.

Adult↗

PubMed1995

Inducing ametropias in hatchling chicks by defocus--aperture effects and cylindrical lenses.

Light-weight translucent plastic goggles with convex or concave rigid contact lens inserts were applied unilaterally to the eyes of young chicks. Convex and concave cylindrical lenses produced astigmatic refractive errors. The magnitude of the induced astigmatism was less than that of the inducing lens and varied with axis orientation. Decreased aperture size or interruption of the defocus resulted in a decreased response to refractive defocus. Slit apertures and spherical defocus produced variable amounts of myopia, hyperopia and astigmatism. Choroidal changes (increased thickness) were observed only in birds developing hyperopia or recovering from myopia.

Animals↗

PubMed1993

Notch in contrast sensitivity function of optical origin: diffraction effects of acrylic filters.

A series of retinal image degrading filters was evaluated by measuring the contrast sensitivity function of four human subjects through the filters (residual CSF). The acrylic filters, with regularly spaced cross-hatches, produced progressively more reduction in the residual CSF as the density of the cross hatching increased. For some of the filters there was a selective loss of a narrow band of spatial frequencies as a result of diffraction effects. This experiment serves to further emphasize the need to rule out optical causes of such notches in the CSF before making a diagnosis of neurological dysfunction.

Acrylic Resins↗

PubMed1992

Refractive plasticity of the developing chick eye.

We have developed a lightweight plastic goggle with rigid contact lens inserts that can be applied to the eyes of newly hatched chicks to explore the range and accuracy of the developmental mechanism that responds to retinal defocus. Convex and concave lenses of 5, 10, 15, 20 and +30 D were applied to one eye on the day of hatching. The chick eye responds accurately to defocus between -10 and +15 D, although hyperopia develops more rapidly than myopia. Beyond this range there is first a levelling off of the response and then a decrease. The resulting refractive errors are caused mainly by increases and decreases in axial length, although high levels of hyperopia are associated with corneal flattening. If +/- 10 D defocusing lenses are applied nine days after hatching the resulting myopia and hyperopia are equal to about 80% of the inducing power. After one week of inducing myopia and hyperopia with +/- 10 D lenses, the inducing lenses were reversed. In this case, the refractive error did not reach the power of the second lens after another week of wear. Instead, astigmatism in varying amounts (0-12 D) was produced, being greater when reversal was from plus to minus. Finally, astigmatism can also be produced by applying 9 D toric inducing lenses on the day of hatching. The astigmatism produced varies from 2 to 6 D, and the most myopic meridian coincides with the power meridian of the inducing lens. This astigmatism appears to be primarily due to corneal toricity.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Accommodation, Ocular↗

PubMed1991

Monocular components of the fixation disparity curve.

Experiments were conducted to characterize the distribution of the monocular components of fixation disparity, i.e., ascertain whether or not the fixation disparity measured by nonius alignments is equally divided between the two eyes or has an unequal distribution. Computer generated nonius lines were used to measure the monocular components of the forced vergence fixation disparity curve (FDC) for subjects with normal binocularity. Thirty-three percent of all subjects tested showed unequal distribution of their monocular components. The composite FDC's for subjects with unequal distribution of the monocular components tended to have steeper slopes than those with equally distributed components. It was concluded that equally divided monocular components are not a prerequisite for good binocularity.

Adult↗

PubMed1991

Inducing myopia, hyperopia, and astigmatism in chicks.

Myopia and hyperopia have been produced in chicks by applying specially designed convex and concave soft contact lenses to the eyes of newly hatched birds. After 2 weeks of wear, the eyes develop refractive states equivalent in sign and amount (+8 and -10 D) to the lens used. However, the lenses produce an artificial hyperopic shift during the first week of wear due to corneal flattening. We have developed a new approach involving the use of goggles with hard convex and concave contact lens inserts placed between the frontal and lateral visual fields. Myopia and hyperopia (+10 and -10 D) can be produced within days (4 days for hyperopia and 7 days for myopia) if the defocus is applied from the day of hatching. We can also produce significant amounts of astigmatism (1 to 5 D) axis at 90 degrees and 180 degrees by using cylindrical contact lens inserts. Although these last results are preliminary, they suggest that accommodation is not likely involved at this stage of refractive development because we do not believe that the accommodative mechanism can cope with cylindrical defocus. All spherical refractive errors produced using the goggle system appear to result from alterations in vitreous chamber depth.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Dissociated vertical deviation: head and body orientation affect the amplitude and velocity of the vertical drift.

PURPOSE: Five subjects with dissociated vertical deviation (DVD) were studied to determine if the amplitude or velocity of the vertical components of the DVD were affected by head/body orientation with respect to gravity. METHODS: Deviations were measured in head upright, head supine, and supine positions, with head hanging postures using a binocular CCD video-based infrared eye tracker. Subjects were required to fixate a target presented in the primary position during alternate or cover/uncover tests. RESULTS: Amplitude and velocity of DVD both in onset and recovery were affected by head/body orientation with respect to gravity. In four of five subjects, the amplitude of the DVD was asymmetric between the two eyes when the head was upright. When the head/body was moved from an upright to a supine with head hanging backward condition, the amplitude of the DVD in the two eyes inverted. The eye with the larger DVD in the upright position had a smaller DVD in the head-hanging orientation. A similar relationship existed between velocity and head/body orientation. We found that DVD velocity increased with amplitude. CONCLUSIONS: Passive effects of gravity on the eye-inorbit do not influence DVD magnitude or frequency of occurrence. The data suggest, however, that otolithic and possibly neck afferent inputs play a role in DVD magnitude and may be a part of the etiology of the condition.

Adult↗