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Retinal circadian rhythms in humans.

A Tuunainen¹, D F Kripke, A C Cress

¹Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla 92093-0667, USA.

Chronobiology International

|January 5, 2002

Summary

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This study found circadian rhythms in human retinal function, including electrooculography (EOG) and electroretinography (ERG) measures. However, these retinal rhythms are less consistent than temperature rhythms and not recommended as reliable circadian markers.

Area of Science:

Ophthalmology
Chronobiology
Neuroscience

Background:

Circadian rhythms are intrinsic biological cycles that influence physiological processes.
Previous research on circadian variations in human retinal electrophysiology has yielded inconsistent results.
Understanding retinal circadian rhythms is crucial for interpreting eye function over time.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate circadian variations in human retinal electrophysiological and psychophysical measures.
To assess the reliability of electrooculography (EOG), electroretinography (ERG), and visual threshold (VTH) as circadian markers.
To compare the consistency of retinal rhythms with core body temperature rhythms.

Main Methods:

Twelve healthy volunteers underwent a 36-hour testing period with an ultrashort sleep-wake cycle.

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Retinal functions (EOG, ERG, VTH) and oral temperature were measured every 90 minutes.

Sleep was monitored using an Actillume device.

Main Results:

Circadian rhythms were observed in EOG peak-to-peak responses and ERG b-wave implicit time.
No significant circadian rhythms were found in ERG a-wave implicit time or amplitude.
Visual threshold (VTH) rhythms were identified for both blue and red stimuli.
Retinal rhythms exhibited lower consistency (poorer signal-to-noise ratio) compared to oral temperature rhythms.

Conclusions:

This study demonstrates distinct circadian rhythms in human retinal electrophysiological and psychophysical measures.
Despite identified rhythms, the lower consistency of retinal measures makes them unsuitable as primary circadian markers.
Further research may explore factors influencing the variability of retinal circadian rhythms.