Does melanopsin bistability have physiological consequences?
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 29, 2026

Investigating Migraine-Like Behavior Using Light Aversion in Mice
Published on: August 11, 2021
1Department of Biology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA. MDRollag-UVa@yahoo.com
Abstract:
Recent publications in the Journal of Biological Rhythms have focused on the hypothesis that the property of melanopsin bistability is functionally translated to in vivo mammalian physiology. Physiological consequences of photopigment bistability likely can be inferred from the more extensive invertebrate literature. In invertebrates, photopigment bistability results in (a) photoreceptor independence from specialized chromophore regenerating systems, (b) long-wavelength enhancement of a blue light effect, (c) expression of a prolonged depolarization after potential following intense blue light stimulation,and (d) photopigment endocytosis following chronic short-wavelength light exposure. If analogous physiological phenomena result from melanopsin bistability in mammals, then one can take advantage of the spectral composition of a light source to modulate its impact on photoentrainment and other light-dependent circadian phenomena. In any event,investigators studying phenomena that are affected by photic stimulation of intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells should detail the spectral composition of their light sources before, during, and after an experimental photic stimulus.
Related Concept Videos
Photoreceptors and Visual Pathways
Pigmentation
Melanin occurs in two primary forms: eumelanin that provides black and brown pigment and pheomelanin that provides red color. Dark-skinned individuals produce more melanin than those with pale...
Channel Rhodopsins
Rhodopsins belong to the family of cell surface proteins called G-protein coupled receptors,...
The Pineal Gland
The primary secretion of the pineal gland is the hormone melatonin, derived from serotonin. The concentration of melatonin in the...
Changes in Skin Color: Clinical Perspectives
Albinism
Albinism is a genetic disorder that affects (completely or partially) the coloring of skin, hair, and eyes. The defect is primarily...
Anatomy of the Eyeball

