Degree Type

Honors Capstone Project

Date of Submission

Spring 5-1-2007

Capstone Advisor

Dr. Barlow

Honors Reader

Dr. Engbretson

Capstone Major

Biomedical and Chemical Engineering

Capstone College

Engineering and Computer Science

Audio/Visual Component

no

Capstone Prize Winner

no

Won Capstone Funding

no

Honors Categories

Sciences and Engineering

Subject Categories

Biological Engineering | Other Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering

Abstract

Because of the highly devastating effects of retinal degenerative diseases, the study of mechanisms of vision loss is imperative. Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading causes of blindness in the elderly. In this study I examined how extreme light exposure, which causes light stress in rodents, affects the visual and retinal function of 3 strains of mice. I hypothesized that, three strains of mice, C57BL/6J, ALR/Lj and BALB/c, would all show significant changes in visual and retinal function. I used behavior testing to assess visual acuity and contrast sensitivity as well as electroretinogram (ERG) recordings to assess retinal function. I found that BALB/c mice, an albino strain, exposed to intermittent white light had the greatest impact on both visual and retinal function. Intermittent blue light also impaired vision in the BALB/c mice strain but to a lesser extent. I did not detect any change in C57BL/6J or ALR/Lj regardless of the exposure. These studies indicate that timing, duration, intensity and color of the extreme light exposure, as well as the strain of mice are all important factors mediating light induced vision loss.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.

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