Mustari Michael J
Washington National Primate Research Center, University of Washington, Seattle, WA.
Department of Ophthalmology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA.
ILAR J. 2017 Dec 1;58(2):216-225. doi: 10.1093/ilar/ilx009.
Most primate behavior is dependent on high acuity vision. Optimal visual performance in primates depends heavily upon frontally placed eyes, retinal specializations, and binocular vision. To see an object clearly its image must be placed on or near the fovea of each eye. The oculomotor system is responsible for maintaining precise eye alignment during fixation and generating eye movements to track moving targets. The visual system of nonhuman primates has a similar anatomical organization and functional capability to that of humans. This allows results obtained in nonhuman primates to be applied to humans. The visual and oculomotor systems of primates are immature at birth and sensitive to the quality of binocular visual and eye movement experience during the first months of life. Disruption of postnatal experience can lead to problems in eye alignment (strabismus), amblyopia, unsteady gaze (nystagmus), and defective eye movements. Recent studies in nonhuman primates have begun to discover the neural mechanisms associated with these conditions. In addition, genetic defects that target the retina can lead to blindness. A variety of approaches including gene therapy, stem cell treatment, neuroprosthetics, and optogenetics are currently being used to restore function associated with retinal diseases. Nonhuman primates often provide the best animal model for advancing fundamental knowledge and developing new treatments and cures for blinding diseases.
大多数灵长类动物的行为依赖于敏锐的视觉。灵长类动物的最佳视觉表现很大程度上取决于向前放置的眼睛、视网膜特化和双眼视觉。为了清晰地看到一个物体，其图像必须落在每只眼睛的中央凹上或附近。动眼系统负责在注视过程中保持精确的眼球对齐，并产生眼球运动以跟踪移动的目标。非人类灵长类动物的视觉系统在解剖结构和功能能力上与人类相似。这使得在非人类灵长类动物身上获得的结果能够应用于人类。灵长类动物的视觉和动眼系统在出生时不成熟，并且在生命的头几个月对双眼视觉和眼球运动体验的质量敏感。出生后体验的中断会导致眼球对齐问题（斜视）、弱视、不稳定的注视（眼球震颤）和眼球运动缺陷。最近对非人类灵长类动物的研究已经开始发现与这些病症相关的神经机制。此外，针对视网膜的基因缺陷会导致失明。目前正在使用包括基因治疗、干细胞治疗、神经假体和光遗传学在内的多种方法来恢复与视网膜疾病相关的功能。非人类灵长类动物通常为推进基础知识以及开发针对致盲疾病的新治疗方法和治愈手段提供最佳的动物模型。
