Note to users. If you're seeing this message, it means that your browser cannot find this page's style/presentation instructions -- or possibly that you are using a browser that does not support current Web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing, and what you can do to make your experience of our site the best it can be.

Science 16 January 1998:
Vol. 279. no. 5349, pp. 396 - 399
DOI: 10.1126/science.279.5349.396
Prev | Table of Contents | Next

Reports

Extraocular Circadian Phototransduction in Humans

Scott S. Campbell, * Patricia J. Murphy

Physiological and behavioral rhythms are governed by an endogenous circadian clock. The response of the human circadian clock to extraocular light exposure was monitored by measurement of body temperature and melatonin concentrations throughout the circadian cycle before and after light pulses presented to the popliteal region (behind the knee). A systematic relation was found between the timing of the light pulse and the magnitude and direction of phase shifts, resulting in the generation of a phase response curve. These findings challenge the belief that mammals are incapable of extraretinal circadian phototransduction and have implications for the development of more effective treatments for sleep and circadian rhythm disorders.

Laboratory of Human Chronobiology, Department of Psychiatry, Cornell University Medical College, 21 Bloomingdale Road, White Plains, NY 10605, USA.
*   To whom correspondence should be addressed.

Read the Full Text


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Short communication: seasonal onset of menopause?.
J. Garai, S. Vilagi, I. Repasy, M. Koppan, and J. Bodis (2004)
Hum. Reprod. 19, 1666-1667
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Acute and Phase-Shifting Effects of Ocular and Extraocular Light in Human Circadian Physiology.
M. Ruger, M. C. M. Gordijn, D. G. M. Beersma, B. de Vries, and S. Daan (2003)
J Biol Rhythms 18, 409-419
   Abstract »    PDF »
Circadian Entrainment to Temperature, But Not Light, in the Isolated Suprachiasmatic Nucleus.
E. D. Herzog and R. M. Huckfeldt (2003)
J Neurophysiol 90, 763-770
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Developing Circadian Rhythmicity in Infants.
S. A. Rivkees (2003)
Pediatrics 112, 373-381
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Extraocular Light Exposure Does Not Phase Shift Saliva Melatonin Rhythms in Sleeping Subjects.
K. Lushington, R. Galka, L. N. Sassi, D. J. Kennaway, and D. Dawson (2002)
J Biol Rhythms 17, 377-386
   Abstract »    PDF »
Absence of Circadian Phase Resetting in Response to Bright Light Behind the Knees.
K. P. Wright Jr. and C. A. Czeisler (2002)
Science 297, 571
   Full Text »    PDF »
Phase-Dependent Effect of Room Light Exposure in a 5-h Advance of the Sleep-Wake Cycle: Implications for Jet Lag.
D. B. Boivin and F. O. James (2002)
J Biol Rhythms 17, 266-276
   Abstract »    PDF »
Keeping an Eye on the Time : The Cogan Lecture.
R. G. Foster (2002)
Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. 43, 1286-1298
   Full Text »    PDF »
Bright-Light Mask Treatment of Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome.
R. J. Cole, J. S. Smith, Y. C. Alcal, J. A. Elliott, and D. F. Kripke (2002)
J Biol Rhythms 17, 89-101
   Abstract »    PDF »
Enhancement of REM sleep during extraocular light exposure in humans.
P. J. Murphy and S. S. Campbell (2001)
Am J Physiol Regulatory Integrative Comp Physiol 280, R1606-R1612
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Measuring Circadian Temperature Rhythm.
S. K. Hanneman (2001)
Biol Res Nurs 2, 236-248
   Abstract »    PDF »
Increase in peripheral blood flow due to extraocular direct irradiation of visible light in rats.
K. Kobayashi, Y. Kobayashi, A. Hashida-Okumura, S. Iimori, K. Nagai, and H. Nakashima (2000)
Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 279, H1141-H1146
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Sensitivity of the human circadian pacemaker to nocturnal light: melatonin phase resetting and suppression.
J. M Zeitzer, D.-J. Dijk, R. E Kronauer, E. N Brown, and C. A Czeisler (2000)
J. Physiol. 526, 695-702
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Photoperiodic Versus Metabolic Signals as Determinants of Seasonal Anestrus in the Mare.
B. P. Fitzgerald and C. J. McManus (2000)
Biol Reprod 63, 335-340
   Abstract »    Full Text »
Recent Developments in Circadian Photoreception: More Than Meets the Eye.
M. von Schantz, I. Provencio, and R. G. Foster (2000)
Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. 41, 1605-1607
   Full Text »
No Melatonin Suppression by Illumination of Popliteal Fossae or Eyelids.
G. Jean-Louis, D. F. Kripke, R. J. Cole, and J. A. Elliott (2000)
J Biol Rhythms 15, 265-269
   Abstract »    PDF »
Linear Demasking Techniques Are Unreliable for Estimating the Circadian Phase of Ambulatory Temperature Data.
E. B. Klerman, Y. Lee, C. A. Czeisler, and R. E. Kronauer (1999)
J Biol Rhythms 14, 260-274
   Abstract »    PDF »
No Evidence for Extraocular Photoreceptors in the Circadian System of the Syrian Hamster.
S. Yamazaki, M. Goto, and M. Menaker (1999)
J Biol Rhythms 14, 197-201
   Abstract »    PDF »
Encephalopsin: A Novel Mammalian Extraretinal Opsin Discretely Localized in the Brain.
S. Blackshaw and S. H. Snyder (1999)
J. Neurosci. 19, 3681-3690
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Melatonin Suppression by Light in Humans Is Maximal When the Nasal Part of the Retina Is Illuminated.
E. K. Visser, D. G. M. Beersma, and S. Daan (1999)
J Biol Rhythms 14, 116-121
   Abstract »    PDF »
Melatonin Suppression by Illumination of Upper and Lower Visual Fields.
T. A. Lasko, D. F. Kripke, and J. A. Elliot (1999)
J Biol Rhythms 14, 122-125
   Abstract »    PDF »
Effects of eccentric exercise on the immune system in men.
C. Malm, R. Lenkei, and B. Sjodin (1999)
J Appl Physiol 86, 461-468
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Role of Mouse Cryptochrome Blue-Light Photoreceptor in Circadian Photoresponses.
R. J. Thresher, M. H. Vitaterna, Y. Miyamoto, A. Kazantsev, D. S. Hsu, C. Petit, C. P. Selby, L. Dawut, O. Smithies, J. S. Takahashi, et al. (1998)
Science 282, 1490-1494
   Abstract »    Full Text »
Greater Improvement in Summer Than With Light Treatment in Winter in Patients With Seasonal Affective Disorder.
T. T. Postolache, T. A. Hardin, F. S. Myers, E. H. Turner, L. Y. Yi, R. L. Barnett, J. R. Matthews, and N. E. Rosenthal (1998)
Am J Psychiatry 155, 1614-1616
   Abstract »    Full Text »
Maternal Entrainment of the Developing Circadian System in the Siberian Hamster (Phodopus sungorus).
G. E. Duffield and F. J. P. Ebling (1998)
J Biol Rhythms 13, 315-329
   Abstract »    PDF »
Vitamin B2-based blue-light photoreceptors in the retinohypothalamic tract as the photoactive pigments for setting the circadian clock in mammals.
Y. Miyamoto and A. Sancar (1998)
PNAS 95, 6097-6102
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »


To Advertise     Find Products

Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)