Abstract
Presentation Description :
Brief exposure to narrow-band blue light in the evening stimulates ocular growth in chicks, at illuminances below 1000 lux. Consistent with this, there is a linear relationship between growth rate and the amount of blue light in a white light spectrum for evening exposures. Both morning and evening blue exposures disrupt the choroidal thickness rhythm, suggestive of a causal relationship between alterations in eye rhythm parameters and increased ocular growth rates. A pilot study using silent substitution to selectively stimulate the melanopsin-ipRGCs supports a role for these receptors in the stimulatory effect. The lack of stimulatory effect at higher illuminances may be related to higher amounts of retinal dopamine at higher illuminances. The effect of blue evening light appears to be illuminance-dependent in eyes exposed to hyperopic defocus: bright (600 lux) blue evening light transiently inhibited the lens-induced growth stimulation, while a lower intensity (200 lux) enhanced it. Interestingly, the lower intensity condition enhanced the growth inhibition in eyes exposed to myopic defocus, presumably reflecting a complex interaction between illuminance, spectra and defocus within the “growth integrator”.
This abstract was presented at the 2024 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Seattle, WA, May 5-9, 2024.