# Assessing Foveal Specializations in Health and Disease

> **NIH NIH F31** · MEDICAL COLLEGE OF WISCONSIN · 2024 · $48,974

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Human vision is initiated by photons of light hitting the retina, a light-sensitive tissue lining the inside of the eye.
At the center of the human retina is the fovea, a highly specialized region that supports high-acuity vision. The
fovea is distinguished by an excavation of the inner retinal layers with a concomitant lack of vasculature, an
increased packing of cone photoreceptors, a unique “private-line” circuitry between cones and midget ganglion
cells, and a near-absence of rod photoreceptors. Several conditions are known to affect the development of
these foveal specializations often resulting in reduced visual function (e.g., achromatopsia, albinism, blue cone
monochromacy, and premature birth). To provide the best care for individuals with these conditions whose visual
function is negatively affected, it is critically important to understand how variations in foveal morphology lead to
a reduction in visual function. Non-invasive clinical imaging tools such as optical coherence tomography (OCT)
and OCT angiography provide information about the overall structure of the retina and can be used to detect
significant structural changes due to disease or injury. Complementing these clinical tools is adaptive optics
scanning light ophthalmoscopy (AOSLO). AOSLO is a non-invasive, in vivo imaging technique that corrects for
the eye’s monochromatic aberrations and can provide cellular-resolution imaging of the retina, including
resolution of the foveal cone mosaic. AOSLO can also be used to perform psychophysical studies to probe
structure-function relationships in the retina. Here, we will use a combination of clinical modalities like OCT along
with AOSLO to investigate several developmental specializations of the human fovea in vivo including foveal
cone packing and the development of regions which are free of short-wavelength-sensitive cones (S-cones) or
rods at the central fovea. Our central hypothesis is that the coordinated development of foveal specializations is
disrupted in cases of foveal disease. We will investigate this hypothesis through the work of the following two
specific aims: Aim 1) Assess foveal cone topography and function in individuals with a history of premature birth;
Aim 2) Examine the relationship of the S-cone sub-mosaic and the rod mosaic. Completion of the proposed
research will provide key information about the variability of human foveal specializations in both health and
disease. Aim 1 will reveal the organization of the foveal cone mosaic in premature birth, which will help inform
the treatment of individuals with a history of premature birth who experience visual dysfunction. Aim 2 will serve
as a crucial step towards developing a map of how the interleaving of the photoreceptor mosaics near the fovea
affects humans’ high-acuity central vision. This work will also provide several training opportunities through the
use of psychophysical testing, application of optics and engineering principles used ...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10995395
- **Project number:** 1F31EY036709-01
- **Recipient organization:** MEDICAL COLLEGE OF WISCONSIN
- **Principal Investigator:** Joseph G Kreis
- **Activity code:** F31 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $48,974
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-08-01 → 2027-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10995395

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10995395, Assessing Foveal Specializations in Health and Disease (1F31EY036709-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10995395. Licensed CC0.

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