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Visual accommodation in vertebrates: mechanisms, physiological response and stimuli

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Abstract

The mechanism and stimulation of the accommodative reflex in vertebrate eyes are reviewed. Except for lampreys, accommodation is brought about by intraocular muscles that mediate either a displacement or deformation of the lens, a change of the corneal radius of curvature or a combination of these mechanisms. Elasmobranchs have little accommodation and are emmetropic in water rather than hyperopic as commonly stated. Accommodation in teleosts and amphibians is well understood and achieved by lens displacement. The accommodative mechanism of amniotes is of considerable diversity and reflects different lifestyles rather than phylogenetical relationships. In all amniotes, the ciliary muscle never has a direct impact on the lens. It relaxes the tension applied to the lens by zonular fibers and/or ligaments. In birds and reptiles the ciliary muscle is usually split into two parts, of which the anterior portion changes the corneal radius of curvature. The deformation of the lens is generally achieved either by its own elasticity (humans, probably other mammals and sauropsids) or by the force of circular muscle fibers in the iris (reptiles, birds, aquatic mammals). In the second part of the paper, some of the current hypotheses about the accommodative stimulus are reviewed together with physiological response characteristics.

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Abbreviations

D:

Diopter

F:

Focal length

IR:

Infrared

LCA:

Longitudinal chromatic aberration

LED:

Light emitting diode

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Acknowledgements

The author thanks the editor of this journal for his support and the invitation to write this review. Shaun Collin kindly supported me with literature and helpful comments on accommodation in lampreys and sharks. I gratefully acknowledge the detailed and helpful comments of Mike Land and a second anonymous reviewer on the manuscript.

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    Matthias Ott

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Ott, M. Visual accommodation in vertebrates: mechanisms, physiological response and stimuli. J Comp Physiol A 192, 97–111 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00359-005-0049-6

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