Optometry and Vision Sciences - Research Publications
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ItemA comparison of microelectrodes for a visual cortical prosthesis using finite element analysis.(Frontiers Media SA, 2012)Altering the geometry of microelectrodes for use in a cortical neural prosthesis modifies the electric field generated in tissue, thereby affecting electrode efficacy and tissue damage. Commonly, electrodes with an active region located at the tip ("conical" electrodes) are used for stimulation of cortex but there is argument to believe this geometry may not be the best. Here we use finite element analysis to compare the electric fields generated by three types of electrodes, a conical electrode with exposed active tip, an annular electrode with active area located up away from the tip, and a striped annular electrode where the active annular region has bands of insulation interrupting the full active region. The results indicate that the current density on the surface of the conical electrodes can be up to 10 times greater than the current density on the annular electrodes of the same height, which may increase the propensity for tissue damage. However choosing the most efficient electrode geometry in order to reduce power consumption is dependent on the distance of the electrode to the target neurons. If neurons are located within 10 μm of the electrode, then a small conical electrode would be more power efficient. On the other hand if the target neuron is greater than 500 μm away-as happens normally when insertion of an array of electrodes into cortex results in a "kill zone" around each electrode due to insertion damage and inflammatory responses-then a large annular electrode would be more efficient.
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ItemDirect visualization and characterization of erythrocyte flow in human retinal capillaries(OPTICAL SOC AMER, 2012-12-01)Imaging the retinal vasculature offers a surrogate view of systemic vascular health, allowing noninvasive and longitudinal assessment of vascular pathology. The earliest anomalies in vascular disease arise in the microvasculature, however current imaging methods lack the spatiotemporal resolution to track blood flow at the capillary level. We report here on novel imaging technology that allows direct, noninvasive optical imaging of erythrocyte flow in human retinal capillaries. This was made possible using adaptive optics for high spatial resolution (1.5 μm), sCMOS camera technology for high temporal resolution (460 fps), and tunable wavebands from a broadband laser for maximal erythrocyte contrast. Particle image velocimetry on our data sequences was used to quantify flow. We observed marked spatiotemporal variability in velocity, which ranged from 0.3 to 3.3 mm/s, and changed by up to a factor of 4 in a given capillary during the 130 ms imaging period. Both mean and standard deviation across the imaged capillary network varied markedly with time, yet their ratio remained a relatively constant parameter (0.50 ± 0.056). Our observations concur with previous work using less direct methods, validating this as an investigative tool for the study of microvascular disease in humans.
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ItemLimitations to adaptive optics image quality in rodent eyes(OPTICAL SOC AMER, 2012-08-01)Adaptive optics (AO) retinal image quality of rodent eyes is inferior to that of human eyes, despite the promise of greater numerical aperture. This paradox challenges several assumptions commonly made in AO imaging, assumptions which may be invalidated by the very high power and dioptric thickness of the rodent retina. We used optical modeling to compare the performance of rat and human eyes under conditions that tested the validity of these assumptions. Results showed that AO image quality in the human eye is robust to positioning errors of the AO corrector and to differences in imaging depth and wavelength compared to the wavefront beacon. In contrast, image quality in the rat eye declines sharply with each of these manipulations, especially when imaging off-axis. However, some latitude does exist to offset these manipulations against each other to produce good image quality.
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ItemNo Preview AvailableThe Effect of Daily Transient+4 D Positive Lens Wear on the Inhibition of Myopia in the Tree Shrew(ASSOC RESEARCH VISION OPHTHALMOLOGY INC, 2012-03-01)PURPOSE: Negative-lens-induced defocus causes accelerated ocular elongation and myopia, whereas positive-lens-induced defocus produces reduced ocular elongation and hyperopia. Short durations of positive lens wear result in markedly stronger temporal effects than do short periods of negative lens wear in the chick model of refractive development. In mammalian and nonhuman primate models, there have been equivocal results in inhibiting myopia by short periods of positive lens wear when compared with data from the chick model. The purpose of the present study was an evaluation of full-time -9.5 D negative lens wear interrupted by short periods of daily +4 D positive lens wear in preventing experimental myopia in the tree shrew. METHODS: One treatment group wore negative lenses (-9.5 D) binocularly for 23 hours a day (10 hours of which were spent in total darkness), interrupted by 1 hour of wearing positive lenses (+4 D) binocularly for 12 days. Another group of animals wore negative lenses (-9.5 D) binocularly for 23 hours a day, interrupted by two 30-minute periods of positive lens (+4 D) wear daily, again for 12 days. The animals were raised on a 14-hour/10-hour light-dark cycle. Animals wearing -9.5 D lenses binocularly, interrupted by 0-powered lenses for either 1 hour or two 30-minute periods daily for 12 days, acted as controls. RESULTS: Continuous wear of -9.5 D lenses binocularly induced a -10.8 D myopic shift in refraction. Full-time wear of -9.5 D lenses binocularly, interrupted by 1 hour of 0-power lens wear binocularly, caused a myopic shift of 3.6 D over 12 days, whereas wearing -9.5 D lenses, interrupted by 1 hour every day of +4.0 D lens wear binocularly, whether it was continuous or divided into two 30-minute periods, caused a myopic shift of only 0.7 D over 12 days. CONCLUSIONS: Daily intermittent +4 D positive lens wear effectively inhibits experimentally induced myopia and may prove a viable approach for preventing myopia progression in children.
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ItemNo Preview AvailableVariable clinical presentations of white without pressure(Optometrist, 2012-09-20)
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ItemOptic disc oedema: a diagnosis of exclusion(Optometry Australia, 2012-09-07)
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ItemBlood Pressure Modifies Retinal Susceptibility to Intraocular Pressure Elevation(PUBLIC LIBRARY SCIENCE, 2012-02-16)Primary open angle glaucoma affects more than 67 million people. Elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) is a risk factor for glaucoma and may reduce nutrient availability by decreasing ocular perfusion pressure (OPP). An interaction between arterial blood pressure and IOP determines OPP; but the exact contribution that these factors have for retinal function is not fully understood. Here we sought to determine how acute modifications of arterial pressure will affect the susceptibility of neuronal function and blood flow to IOP challenge. Anaesthetized (ketamine:xylazine) Long-Evan rats with low (∼60 mmHg, sodium nitroprusside infusion), moderate (∼100 mmHg, saline), or high levels (∼160 mmHg, angiotensin II) of mean arterial pressure (MAP, n = 5-10 per group) were subjected to IOP challenge (10-120 mmHg, 5 mmHg steps every 3 minutes). Electroretinograms were measured at each IOP step to assess bipolar cell (b-wave) and inner retinal function (scotopic threshold response or STR). Ocular blood flow was measured using laser-Doppler flowmetry in groups with similar MAP level and the same IOP challenge protocol. Both b-wave and STR amplitudes decreased with IOP elevation. Retinal function was less susceptible to IOP challenge when MAP was high, whereas the converse was true for low MAP. Consistent with the effects on retinal function, higher IOP was needed to attenuated ocular blood flow in animals with higher MAP. The susceptibility of retinal function to IOP challenge can be ameliorated by acute high BP, and exacerbated by low BP. This is partially mediated by modifications in ocular blood flow.
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ItemSimultaneous retinal and cortical visually evoked electrophysiological responses in between migraine attacks(SAGE PUBLICATIONS LTD, 2012-09-01)PURPOSE: People with migraine often report aversion to flickering lights and show abnormal results on behavioural tasks that require the processing of temporal visual information. Studies have reported that the cortically evoked electrophysiological response to a flickering visual stimulus is abnormal; however, none have considered whether there is an underlying pre-cortical abnormality. In this cross-sectional study, we consider whether people with migraine have retinal and cortical electrophysiological abnormalities to flickering stimuli. METHODS: Monocular transient (1 Hz) and steady-state (8.3 Hz) pattern reversal electroretinograms (PERGs) and pattern visual evoked responses (PVERs) were measured simultaneously in 45 people with migraine (26 without aura, 19 with aura) and 30 non-headache controls at a time between migraine attacks. RESULTS: PERG amplitude and timing did not differ significantly between groups. Transient PVER amplitude was significantly reduced (28%) in the migraine with aura group compared to the controls F(2,72) = 3.6, p = 0.03). Both migraine groups showed significant reductions (32%, 39%) in steady-state PVER amplitude relative to controls (F(2,70) = 4.3, p = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: This study finds normal retinal processing of flickering stimuli in the presence of abnormal cortical function between migraine attacks.
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ItemNo Preview AvailableMuscarinic Antagonist Control of Myopia: Evidence for M-4 and M-1 Receptor-Based Pathways in the Inhibition of Experimentally-Induced Axial Myopia in the Tree Shrew(ASSOC RESEARCH VISION OPHTHALMOLOGY INC, 2012-08-01)PURPOSE: The broadband muscarinic antagonist atropine is effective in stopping the progression of myopia in animals and humans. The partially selective M(1)/M(4) antagonist pirenzepine also slows progression of myopia, although not as effectively as atropine. Due to the supra maximal doses utilized in these studies, it is unclear if this antimyopia effect occurs through a receptoral-based mechanism, and if so, which receptors are involved. Studies in chicks indicate the involvement of the M(4) muscarinic receptor. The current study investigated the effect of the highly selective muscarinic antagonists Muscarinic Toxin 3 (MT3) (M(4) selective) and Muscarinic Toxin 7 (MT7) (M(1) selective) on experimental myopia in a mammalian model. METHODS: Tree shrews (n = 23) underwent daily intravitreal injections of MT3, MT7, or vehicle (phosphate buffered saline) for five days in the treated eye, combined with deprivation of vision with a translucent occluder (MD). The contralateral eye was unocccluded and underwent intravitreal injections of vehicle for the same period. Two additional groups (n = 10) underwent daily intravitreal injections of MT7 or vehicle for 10 days in the treated eye combined with negative lens (-9.5 diopter [D]) defocus (LIM). The control eye was injected with saline and wore a plano lens. RESULTS: Both MT3 and MT7 treatment reduced the development of deprivation-induced myopia (treated-control eye [T-C]; vehicle-MD; -4.3 ± 0.6 D versus MT3-MD; -0.7 ± 0.2 D and MT7-MD; -0.7 ± 0.4 D; P < 0.001). MT7 treatment was effective at inhibiting lens-induced myopia (T-C; vehicle-LIM; -4.6 ± 0.5 D versus MT7-LIM; 0.2 ± 0.2 D; P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The findings demonstrate that inhibition of form-deprivation myopia by muscarinic antagonists involves both M(4) and M(1) muscarinic receptor signaling pathways in mammals.
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ItemEvidence for increased internal noise in migraineurs for contrast and shape processing(SAGE PUBLICATIONS LTD, 2012-01-01)AIM: Increased contrast-level dependent internal noise has been reported in migraine. This study aimed to investigate whether a general increase in internal noise impacted on other tasks thought to assess functioning in cortical area V1 and was evident in global contour coding (V4). METHODS: Eleven migraineurs (six with aura) and 12 headache-free controls completed three psychophysical tasks: (i) contrast detection, (ii) discrimination of the angle of a spiral path and (iii) detection of deformation from circularity. Internal noise estimates were obtained using an N-pass method that compared responses to repeated presentations of identical stimuli. Internal noise results in inconsistent responses across different runs. RESULTS: Migraineurs had significantly higher contrast thresholds when there was high external luminance noise. There were no other significant group differences in thresholds. Increased multiplicative noise associated with contrast processing was replicated and increased additive noise, which is independent of the visual input, was found for the global form task. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides further evidence for increased multiplicative internal noise associated with contrast processing in migraineurs. However there is no generalised increase in internal noise in V1 as noise estimates for angular discrimination were normal. Increased additive internal noise was associated with the global shape task, co-occurring with increased efficiency.