C M Wildgruber | PubMed Health

PubMed1983

Bright light affects human circadian rhythms.

The relative effectiveness of external zeitgebers synchronizing circadian rhythms can be evaluated by measuring the size of the range of entrainment. The experimental approach to measure entrainment limits is the application of an artificial zeitgeber with slowly and steadily changing period. In human circadian rhythms, an absolute light-dark (LD) cycle with a light intensity during L of 1000 lux or less, results in an upper entrainment limit of 26.91 +/- 0.24 hours. The same limit is reached in constant illumination when only informations are given to the subjects. Consequently, the LD cycle is effective mainly with its behavioral component characterized by the request of the light-dark alternation to go to rest. In experiments with the same experimental protocol but higher intensity of illumination during L (approximately 4000 lux, i.e., exceeding the threshold beyond which melatonin excretion is suppressed in humans), human circadian rhythms can be synchronized within a much larger range; the upper entrainment limit is, with all overt rhythms measured, beyond 29 hours. This means that bright light has an effect on the human circadian system which is qualitatively different from that of dim light, and which is similar to the effect of light in most animal experiments. This finding has theoretical and practical implications.

Body Temperature↗

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Multi-oscillatory control of circadian rhythms in human performance.

Circadian rhythms are known to exist in many measures of human performance efficiency as well as in physiological processes. The demands of a task, and in particular its 'working memory' load, play a large part in determining the time of day at which it is best performed. Furthermore, task demands may affect the speed with which performance rhythms adjust to the altered sleep/wake schedules occasioned by shift-work and rapid time-zone transitions. These differences in rate of adjustment may be explained by a similar multi-oscillatory model to those proposed for physiological rhythms. These assume any given circadian rhythm to be jointly controlled by two endogenous oscillators. The first is thought to be relatively immune to exogenous factors and to control the temperature rhythm, while the second is thought to be more influenced by exogenous factors and to have the major role in governing the sleep/wake cycle. Normally, the pronounced 24-h time cues, or 'zeitgebers', in our environment result in both oscillators, and hence all circadian rhythms, running with a period of 24 h. However, under altered sleep/wake schedules, and in conditions of temporal isolation, the temperature rhythm and sleep/wake cycle may separate from one another and run with distinctly different periods. When such 'internal desynchronization' occurs, other physiological rhythms have been found to run in synchrony with one or other of these two functions. This finding forms the basis of current multi-oscillatory models. However, studies of abnormal sleep/wake schedules suggest that the rhythm in working memory performance may sometimes separate from both the sleep/wake cycle and temperature rhythm by running with a period of less than 24 h. We have investigated this possibility here and our results indicate control of working memory performance rhythms by a previously unidentified oscillator with an autonomous period of about 21 h.

Adult↗