Chromatic Mechanisms in Accommodation and Emmetropization

Understanding how the visual environment guides ocular growth is increasingly urgent. Myopia prevalence is rising rapidly worldwide, with projections suggesting that roughly half of the global population may become myopic by 2050, despite myopia having been relatively uncommon only a century ago.

Our visual system develops, interprets, and reacts in response to our visual environment, the so-called "visual diet". This diet, rich in color, contrast and spatial frequency, influences our ability to accommodate, refractive development, and ultimately the eye's ability to achieve and maintain clear vision. Chromatic aspects of vision span multiple interconnected areas: (a) the spectral content of the external environment, (b) the eye's polychromatic imaging properties, and (c) the wavelength-specific retinal/neural detection mechanisms.

In this webinar, leading researchers will discuss how chromatic signals influence accommodation and eye growth, and how these findings may shape future approaches to myopia control, visual optics, and ophthalmic technology. Attendees will gain insight into both the fundamental science and the emerging translational opportunities in this rapidly evolving field.

Subject Matter Level: Intermediate - Assumes basic knowledge of the topic

What You Will Learn:
• How chromatic cues influence accommodation and eye growth.
• How the eye's optical and neural systems process wavelength-dependent signals.
• How chromatic mechanisms may improve our understanding of existing myopia control therapies and inform future treatment paradigms.

Who Should Attend:
• Students, post-docs, faculty
• Researchers interested in developing myopia control therapies
• Researchers interested in display technology

About the Presenters:

Ben Chin from The Rochester Institute of Technology

Benjamin Chin is an Assistant Professor of Imaging Science at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). He received his Ph.D. in Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania. His interest is in the computational mechanisms underlying important visual tasks such as ocular accommodation, motion perception, and depth perception. He employs methods from visual psychophysics, computational modeling, and continuous response measurements, such as hand and eye tracking. 

Frank Schaeffel from The University of Tübingen

Professor Frank Schaeffel is a leading vision scientist and Professor at the University of Tübingen, whose research focuses on accommodation, emmetropization, and myopia development. His work has been foundational in understanding how optical and chromatic cues regulate eye growth. Using animal models, he helped establish the role of longitudinal chromatic aberration, retinal signaling, and environmental factors in refractive development.