A Study of the Physiological Role of the Spectral Composition of Daily Light Exposure in the Development of Childhood Myopia

Abstract

The present study is an attempt to experimentally create conditions for the occurrence of childhood myopia in laboratory animals. Measurements were performed using ultrasound technique for different age groups of Japanese quail Coturnix japonica dom., from chicks (10, 25, and 45 days) and up to fully mature birds of the (65 days) in situ. To simulate the processes of myopization, everyday lighting sources with narrow spectrum filters, blue (450 ± 10 nm), red (630 ± 10 nm), and the most eye-friendly yellow (550 ± 20 nm), were used. High-frequency focused ultrasound (30–80 MHz) and the B/Z scanning mode provided high-quality visualization of the fine structure of the chick eye and the accuracy of measuring geometric parameters in its sagittal plane. The obtained data on the size of the eyeball, the thickness of the lens and sclera, cornea, vitreous body, and chorioretinal complex made it possible to trace the age-related changes in the eye during the ontogenesis of the animal. Preliminary data on the elasticity of the sclera of the quail eye were obtained.