Form-deprivation myopia in monkeys is a graded phenomenon

AbstractTo shed light on the potential role of the phenomenon of form-deprivation myopia in normal refractive development, we investigated the degree of image degradation required to produce axial myopia in rhesus monkeys. Starting at about 3 weeks of age, diffuser spectacle lenses were employed to degrade the retinal image in one eye of 13 infant monkeys. The diffusers were worn continuously for periods ranging between 11 and 19 weeks. The effects of three different strengths of optical diffusers, which produced reductions in image contrast that ranged from about 0.5 to nearly 3 log units, were assessed by retinoscopy and A-scan ultrasonography. Control data were obtained from ten normal infants and three infants reared with clear, zero-powered lenses over both eyes. Eleven of the 13 treated infants developed form-deprivation myopia. Qualitatively similar results were obtained for the three diffuser groups, however, the degree of axial myopia varied directly with the degree of image degradation. Thus, form-deprivation myopia in monkeys is a graded phenomenon and can be triggered by a modest degree of chronic image degradation

The role of optical defocus in regulating refractive development in infant monkeys

AbstractEarly in life, the two eyes of infant primates normally grow in a coordinated manner toward the ideal refractive state. We investigated the extent to which lens-induced changes in the effective focus of the eye affected refractive development in infant rhesus monkeys. The main finding was that spectacle lenses could predictably alter the growth of one or both eyes resulting in appropriate compensating refractive changes in both the hyperopic and myopic directions. Although the effective operating range of the emmetropization process in young monkeys is somewhat limited, the results demonstrate that emmetropization in this higher primate, as in a number of other species, is an active process that is regulated by optical defocus associated with the eye’s effective refractive state

Environmental Law: Streamlining the Review of Proposed Development Under the Environmental Land and Water Management Act

Examining recent legislative and judicial changes in the law governing proposed developments, the authors find that a predominant trend has been the streamlining of the procedures by which proposed developments are reviewed. Although administrative efficiency and speedy review pose the risk of unchecked development, the authors suggest that the recent changes in the law have adequately accommodated the competing goals of environmental protection and economic growt

Recovery of peripheral refractive errors and ocular shape in rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) with experimentally induced myopia

AbstractThis study aimed to investigate the changes in ocular shape and relative peripheral refraction during the recovery from myopia produced by form deprivation (FD) and hyperopic defocus. FD was imposed in six monkeys by securing a diffuser lens over one eye; hyperopic defocus was produced in another six monkeys by fitting one eye with −3D spectacle. When unrestricted vision was re-established, the treated eyes recovered from the vision-induced central and peripheral refractive errors. The recovery of peripheral refractive errors was associated with corresponding changes in the shape of the posterior globe. The results suggest that vision can actively regulate ocular shape and the development of central and peripheral refractions in infant primates

Postnatal development of onset transient responses in macaque V1 AND V2 neuron

Vision of newborn infants is limited by immaturities in their visual brain. In adult primates, the transient onset discharges of visual cortical neurons are thought to be intimately involved with capturing the rapid succession of brief images in visual scenes. Here we sought to determine the responsiveness and quality of transient responses in individual neurons of the primary visual cortex (V1) and visual area 2 (V2) of infant monkeys. We show that the transient component of neuronal firing to 640-ms stationary gratings was as robust and as reliable as in adults only 2 wk after birth, whereas the sustained component was more sluggish in infants than in adults. Thus the cortical circuitry supporting onset transient responses is functionally mature near birth, and our findings predict that neonates, known for their impoverished vision, are capable of initiating relatively mature fixating eye movements and of performing in detection of simple objects far better than traditionally though

Strengths and Collision Broadened Widths in the Second Overtone Band of Hydrogen Fluoride

Individual line strengths and self‐broadened half‐widths have been measured in the second overtone band of hydrogen fluoride. The electric dipole matrix element for the band has been determined from the measured strengths. Its value is:〈3∣μ(r)∣0〉exp=+1.628×10−21esu⋅cm.The m dependence of the measured half‐widths agree with the Anderson theory of collision broadening if off resonant collisions are taken into account.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/70439/2/JCPSA6-57-12-5119-1.pd

Receptive-field subfields of V2 neurons in macaque monkey are adult-like near birth

Infant primates can discriminate texture-defined form despite their relatively low visual acuity. The neuronal mechanisms underlying this remarkable visual capacity of infants have not been studied in nonhuman primates. Since many V2 neurons in adult monkeys can extract the local features in complex stimuli that are required for form vision, we used two-dimensional dynamic noise stimuli and local spectral reverse correlation (LSRC) to measure whether the spatial map of receptive-field subfields in individual V2 neurons is sufficiently mature near birth to capture local features. As in adults, most V2 neurons in 4-week-old monkeys showed a relatively high degree of homogeneity in the spatial matrix of facilitatory subfields. However, about 25% of V2 neurons had the subfield map where the neighboring facilitatory subfields substantially differed in their preferred orientations and spatial frequencies. Over 80% of V2 neurons in both infants and adults had ‘tuned’ suppressive profiles in their subfield maps that could alter the tuning properties of facilitatory profiles. The differences in the preferred orientations between facilitatory and suppressive profiles were relatively large but extended over a broad range. Response immaturities in infants were mild; the overall strength of facilitatory subfield responses was lower than that in adults and the optimal correlation delay (‘latency’) was longer in 4-week-old infants. These results suggest that as early as 4 weeks of age, the spatial receptive-field structure of V2 neurons is as complex as in adults and the ability of V2 neurons to compare local features of neighboring stimulus elements is nearly adult like

Local Sensitivity to Stimulus Orientation and Spatial Frequency within the Receptive Fields of Neurons in Visual Area 2 (V2) of Macaque Monkeys

We used dynamic dense noise stimuli and local spectral reverse correlation methods to reveal the local sensitivities of neurons in visual area 2 (V2) of macaque monkeys to orientation and spatial frequency within their receptive fields. This minimized the potentially confounding assumptions that are inherent in stimulus selections. The majority of neurons exhibited a relatively high degree of homogeneity for the preferred orientations and spatial frequencies in the spatial matrix of facilitatory subfields. However, about 20% of all neurons showed maximum orientation differences between neighboring subfields that were greater than 25 deg. The neurons preferring horizontal or vertical orientations showed less inhomogeneity in space than the neurons preferring oblique orientations. Over 50% of all units also exhibited suppressive profiles, and those were more heterogeneous than facilitatory profiles. The preferred orientation and spatial frequency of suppressive profiles differed substantially from those of facilitatory profiles, and the neurons with suppressive subfields had greater orientation selectivity than those without suppressive subfields. The peak suppression occurred with longer delays than the peak facilitation. These results suggest that the receptive field profiles of the majority of V2 neurons reflect the orderly convergence of V1 inputs over space, but that a subset of V2 neurons exhibit more complex response profiles having both suppressive and facilitatory subfields. These V2 neurons with heterogeneous subfield profiles could play an important role in the initial processing of complex stimulus features

Laser fresnel distance measuring system and method

A method and system for determining range to a target are provided. A beam of electromagnetic energy is transmitted through an aperture in an opaque screen such that a portion of the beam passes through the aperture to generate a region of diffraction that varies as a function of distance from the aperture. An imaging system is focused on a target plane in the region of diffraction with the generated image being compared to known diffraction patterns. Each known diffraction pattern has a unique value associated therewith that is indicative of a distance from the aperture. A match between the generated image and at least one of the known diffraction patterns is indicative of a distance between the aperture and target plane

Topographic map reorganization in cat area 17 after early monocular retinal lesions

Neither discrete peripheral retinal lesions nor the normal optic disk produces obvious holes in one\u27s percept of the world because the visual brain appears to perceptually fill in these blind spots. Where in the visual brain or how this filling in occurs is not well understood. A prevailing hypothesis states that topographic map of visual cortex reorganizes after retinal lesions, which sews up the hole in the topographic map representing the deprived area of cortex (cortical scotoma) and may lead to perceptual filling in. Since the map reorganization does not typically occur unless retinotopically matched lesions are made in both eyes, we investigated the conditions in which monocular retinal lesions can induce comparable map reorganization. We found that following monocular retinal lesions, deprived neurons in cat area 17 can acquire new receptive fields if the lesion occurred relatively early in life (8 weeks of age) and the lesioned cats experienced a substantial period of recovery (\u3e3 years). Quantitative determination of the monocular and binocular response properties of reactivated units indicated that responses to the lesioned eye for such neurons were remarkably robust, and that the receptive-field properties for the two eyes were generally similar. Moreover, excitatory or inhibitory binocular interactions were found in the majority of experimental units when the two eyes were activated together. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that map reorganization after monocular retinal lesions require experience-dependent plasticity and may be involved in the perceptual filling in of blind spots due to retinal lesions early in life