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The fate of the oculomotor system in clinical bilateral anophthalmia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 May 2012

HOLLY BRIDGE
Affiliation:
Oxford Centre for Functional MRI of the Brain (FMRIB), Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, UK
NICOLA RAGGE
Affiliation:
Wessex Regional Genetics Service, Princess Anne Hospital, Southampton, Hampshire, UK School of Life Sciences, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, UK
NED JENKINSON
Affiliation:
Functional Neurosurgery & Experimental Neurology, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, UK
ALAN COWEY
Affiliation:
Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
KATE E. WATKINS
Affiliation:
Oxford Centre for Functional MRI of the Brain (FMRIB), Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, UK Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

Abstract

The interdependence of the development of the eye and oculomotor system during embryogenesis is currently unclear. The occurrence of clinical anophthalmia, where the globe fails to develop, permits us to study the effects this has on the development of the complex neuromuscular system controlling eye movements. In this study, we use very high-resolution T2-weighted imaging in five anophthalmic subjects to visualize the extraocular muscles and the cranial nerves that innervate them. The subjects differed in the presence or absence of the optic nerve, the abducens nerve, and the extraocular muscles, reflecting differences in the underlying disruption to the eye’s morphogenetic pathway. The oculomotor nerve was present in all anophthalmic subjects and only slightly reduced in size compared to measurements in sighted controls. As might be expected, the presence of rudimentary eye-like structures in the socket appeared to correlate with development and persistence of the extraocular muscles in some cases. Our study supports in part the concept of an initial independence of muscle development, with its maintenance subject to the presence of these eye-like structures.

Type
Research Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012

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