Vision Flashcards
What ar ethe two funcamental protective mechanisms of the eye?
blinking and tear production
What neurotransmitters on what types of muscles are involved in blinking?
ACh on nicotinic receptors for the straited muscle
Norepinephrine on A1 adrenergic receptors for the smooth muscle
What part of the nervous system is involved with tear production? With what NT on what receptors?
the parasympathetic nervous system
ACh on muscarinic receptors
What is epiphora, and what are the two general causes?
overlow of tears - crying
cam be due to overproduction or blocked drainage
What three muscles are involved in blinking?
orbicularis oculi (striated)
levator palpebrae superioris (striated)
superior tarsal muscle (smooth)
In Horner Syndrome, which of the three blinking muscles is impaired, leading to ptosis?
the superior tarsal muscle - it’s smooth muscle innervated by sympathetic fibers in the sympathetic chain which are damaged in Horner’s syndrome
What are the states of the three muscles under the following conditions:
maintaining ocular opening
adjusting to changes in globe position
blinking/firm cloising of eyes
open: levator and superior tarsal tonically activated, inactivation of orbicularis
adjusting: activation/inactivation of levator, inactivation of orvicularis
blinking: inhibition of levator, actiation of orbicularis
How does spontaneous blinking differ from the blink reflex?
It’s periodic, precisely ocnjugated, symmetrical, brief and occurs in the asbence of external stimuli or internal effort - not as fast as the blink reflex
What is the typical blink rate in adults? Slower or faster in children?
10-20 blinks per minuts in adult, lower in children
Where in the brain does spontaneous blinking originate? Through what NT pathway?
premotor brainstem structures
descending dopaminergic activity
If blinking is increased with higher dopamine levels, what alteration in blinking will occur in Parkinsons’s disease, schizophrenia, and Huntington’s disease?
Parkinsons: decrease in dopamine, so decrease in blinking
Schizophrenia and Huntinton’s: increase in dopamine, so increase in blinking
What stimuli will initiate the blink refelx?
touch to the cornea (afferents in the trigeminal)
bright light or rapidly approaching objects (afferents in optic nerve)
What are the three layers of the tear film?
- lipids from oil glands in the eye
- acqueous-based solution from lacrimal gland (with lysozymes)
- mucous from the conjunctiva
How is tear production affected by situation and age?
emotional tears contain more hormones like prolacting, ACTH and enkephalin
tear production decreases with age, which means dry eye is an issue in the elderly
In what two ways does tear flow occur?
evaportation
drainage through nasolacrimal ducts into the nasal cavity
What branch of the nervous system will lead to tear production? How?
parasympathetic
it increases tear production by the lacrimal gland and decreases outflow by facilitating closure of the lacrimal duct passage
What nerve will stimulate epiphora during stimulation of the cornea?
What brain regions will mediate epiphoria as an emotional response?
trigeminal nerve
limbic system, especially hypothalamus
What is refraction? What does it?
focusing the light on the retina by the cornea and the lens
Which does most of the work for refraction - the cornea or the lens?
the cornea (has stronger refractive power)
What special thing can the lens do in terms of refraction? What’s the special term for this?
It can adjust its focusing power to deal with near vision- this is called accomodation
Focusing power is 1/focal length. What is the normal range for focusing power in the eye, with cornea and lens combined?
cornea = +44 D
lens = +15-29 D
so total range is +59-75 D
What happens to the image as it passes through the lens?
it was inverted and reversed
What is the significant modification to the maintenance of the topographical map established in the retina?
information of the two nasal retinas crosses in the optic chiasm, while information from the two temporal retinas goes to the ipsilateral side
this ensures that information from the elft visula field is processed in the right visual cortex
Is the lens designed to be better at far sight or near sight? Why?
far sight - it does not need to change itself for far information to hit the retina - it’s already designed to do so
evolutionarily we were better served to be able to see things when they were still far away so we could have time to run away
What is the distance from the lens ot the focusing point? What is the focusing point?
the focal length
the fovea
What has to happen to the lens when looking at near objects? Why?
If the lens doesn’t accomodate, the focal length won’t change which means the image will be projected to an area behind the eye and will therefore be out of focus
this means the lens has to becomes shorter and fatter, allowing it to increase its focusing power
Relaxation of the ciliary muscles to will relax the lens - better for far vision. What branch of the autonomic nervous system does this?
Constriction of the ciliary muscles will make the lens fatter for near vision. What branch of the autonomic nervous system?
sympathetic = far vision
parasympathetic = near vision
If there are two systems: sympathetic and parasympathetic involved in refraction, how many drug targets are there?
4
agonsit and antagonist on sympathetic
agaonist and antagonist on parasympathetic
What is hyperopia?
farsightedness
so the axial length is less than the focal length because the eyeball is too short or the lens is too week
What lens do you use to correct hyperopia?
a convex lens to increase the refractive power