How your eye's light and dark channels affect vision and nearsightedness
Official title: Neuronal mechanisms of image processing in the early visual pathway
Funded at State College of Optometry · NIH-11127135 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Looks at how the eye's 'ON' (light) and 'OFF' (dark) channels respond in people with nearsightedness compared with people who have normal distance vision.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | State College of Optometry NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (New York, United States) |
| Project start | September 1, 1983 |
| Project end | May 31, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $1,635,000 |
| NIH project number | 2R01EY005253-39 |
| Project ID | NIH-11127135 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
People with nearsightedness (myopia) and people with normal distance vision who can visit the clinic for visual and brain-response testing are likely candidates.
✕Less likely to help
People whose vision loss is due to other eye diseases (for example advanced cataract or retinal degeneration) or those unable to undergo clinic visual testing may not benefit from this work.
What this research studies
You would come to clinic where researchers measure eye and brain responses to brief light and dark flashes to separate the ON and OFF visual channels. Tests use noninvasive recordings of visual responses to the onset of light and dark stimuli to capture how each pathway works. The team will compare those responses between people with myopia (nearsightedness) and people with normal vision. They aim to see whether reduced ON-pathway activity is linked to the development of myopia, which could point to new prevention ideas.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could point to new ways to prevent or treat myopia by targeting the eye's light-signaling pathways or visual environments.
How similar studies have gone: Previous laboratory and preliminary clinical work supports differences between ON and OFF pathways, but applying these measures to link ON-pathway under-stimulation to myopia is a newer approach with promising early data.
Where this research is happening
-
State College of Optometry
New York, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Alonso, Jose Manuel — State College of Optometry
- Study coordinator: Alonso, Jose Manuel
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.