Current Projects

​Role of Eye Movement in Developing Refractive Error

Eye movements play a significant role in the development of refractive errors⁶⁷. Refractive errors occur when the shape of the eye prevents light from focusing directly on the retina⁸. Studies suggest that emmetropic and low-hyperopic eyes, in which the refractive error in the periphery of the visual field is relatively hyperopic with respect to the axial refraction, may be at greater risk of developing myopia⁶. The hypothesis that a relatively hyperopic peripheral refractive error can drive the development of human myopia remains unproven, but the available data support the possibility of an interaction between the states of focus on axis and in the periphery⁶.

Neuromodulation of Cerebellum and Its Effect in Fixation

Neuromodulation of the cerebellum has shown promising results in influencing the pathological abnormalities of movement disorders¹¹. The cerebellum has several connections with the basal ganglia and other cortices, and its neuromodulation could influence these connections¹¹. Studies have shown that deep cerebellar stimulation can restore motion in cases of ataxia¹⁴. Moreover, cerebellar neuromodulation could influence the pathological abnormalities through the several connections between the cerebellum and the basal ganglia or other cortices¹¹. This suggests that neuromodulation of deep cerebellar structures is a promising treatment for movement disorders that are refractory to conventional treatments¹¹.

Impact of Short-Term Monocular Deprivation on Eye Movements

Short-term monocular deprivation has been shown to induce a shift in sensory eye dominance in favor of the deprived eye¹²³⁴⁵. This visual plasticity was first reported by Lunghi and colleagues¹, who showed that after 2.5 h of monocular pattern deprivation, the perceived dominance duration for the deprived eye was longer in a binocular rivalry task¹. Such effects lasted for about 30 min¹. Later, Zhou et al. demonstrated that this binocular visual plasticity was also reflected in binocular combination tasks that involved phase, motion, and contrast². The underlying mechanism was believed to be a contrast gain reduction of the non-deprived eye and a contrast gain enhancement of the deprived eye resulting from short-term monocular deprivation².

References:

(1) Peripheral refraction and the development of refractive error: a review. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirect/10.1111/j.1475-1313.2010.00746.x.

(2) Refractive Development - American Academy of Ophthalmology. https://www.aao.org/education/disease-review/refractive-development.

(3) Facts About Refractive Errors - National Eye Institute. https://www.nei.nih.gov/sites/default/files/health-pdfs/FactsAbout_REFRACTIVE_ERRORS_2013.pdf.

(4) The striking effects of deep cerebellar stimulation on generalized. https://thejns.org/downloadpdf/view/journals/j-neurosurg/132/3/article-p712.pdf.

(5) Neuromodulation of the cerebellum rescues movement in a mouse -Nature. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-21417-8.pdf.

(6) The shift in sensory eye dominance from short-term monocular deprivation. https://eandv.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40662-022-00303-4.

(7) The Suppressive Basis of Ocular Dominance Changes Induced by Short-Term monocular deprivation. https://iovs.arvojournals.org/article.aspx?articleid=2792891.

(8) Internal neural states influence the short-term effect of monocular deprivation https://elifesciences.org/articles/83815.

(9) Short-term monocular deprivation delays the processing of the..https://jov.arvojournals.org/article.aspx?articleid=2771663.

(10) Short‐term monocular deprivation alters early components of visual. https://physoc.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1113/JP270950.

(11) Overview of Refractive Error - Eye Disorders - MSD Manuals. https://www.msdmanuals.com/professional/eye-disorders/refractive-error/overview-of-refractive-error?langselector=1.

(12) The Role of Retinal Dysfunction in Myopia Development. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10571-022-01309-1.

(13) Consensus Paper: Experimental Neurostimulation of the Cerebellum. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12311-019-01041-5.

(14) Neuromodulation of Motor Functions Using Noninvasive Cerebellar. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11055-022-01258-8.

(15) Effects of cerebellar neuromodulation in movement disorders. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Rubens-Cury/publication/321270618_Effects_of_cerebellar_neuromodulation_in_movement_disorders_A_systematic_review/links/5c016e5c45851523d15617cd/Effects-of-cerebellar-neuromodulation-in-movement-disorders-A-systematic-review.pdf.

(16) https://thejns.org/doi/abs/10.3171/2018.11.JNS182180.

(17) https://doi.org/10.1167/iovs.64.13.2.