Form-deprivation myopia in the guinea pig (Cavia porcellus).

Form deprivation (FD) was induced in 61 guinea pigs with a diffuser worn on one eye. The form-deprived eye elongated and developed myopia within 6 days in animals raised under a 12:12 h light/dark cycle, but not when reared in darkness. After 11 days of FD, the average eye was -6.6 D more myopic and 146 microm longer than its fellow eye. Initially the myopia was mostly from vitreous chamber elongation, but with longer periods of FD, corneal power increases predominated. These effects were confirmed in schematic eyes. After a delay, FD also elongated the vitreous chamber of the non-deprived eye. The myopia rapidly abated once the diffusers were removed (65% within 24 h) due to inhibition of elongation and choroidal thickening. The guinea pig provides a fast mammalian model of FD myopia and corneal curvature regulation.