Rest-Activity Cycle and Melatonin Rhythm in Blind Free-Runners Have Similar Periods

Abstract

In the absence of the entraining light-dark cycle, most totally blind humans free-run, albeit with relative coordination to nonphotic zeitgebers. Such blind free-runners (BFRs) often attempt to maintain a 24-h sleep-wake schedule and consequently suffer from recurrent sleep disruption and daytime somnolence. This study was conducted to determine the periods of the free-running melatonin rhythm and of the rest-activity cycle in 16 BFRs. It was found that the non-24-h component of the rest-activity rhythm correlated with the observed period of the circadian pacemaker.

Keywords

circadian human relative coordination blindness entrainment melatonin

References

Czeisler CA , Duffy JF , Shanahan TL , Brown EN , Mitchell JF , Rimmer DW , Ronda JM , Silva EJ , Allan JS , Emens JS , et al. (1999) Stability, precision and near-24-hour period of the human circadian pacemaker. Science 284:2177-2181.

Emens J. , Lewy AJ , Yuhas K. , Jackman AR , and Johnson KP ( 2006) Melatonin entrains free-running blind individuals with circadian periods less than 24 hours. Sleep 29:A62.

Emens JS , Lewy AJ , Lefler BJ , and Sack RL ( 2005) Relative coordination to unknown "weak zeitgebers" in free-running blind individuals. J Biol Rhythms 20:159-167.

Hack LM , Lockley SW , Arendt J. , and Skene DJ ( 2003) The effects of low-dose 0.5-mg melatonin on the free-running circadian rhythms of blind subjects. J Biol Rhythms 18:420-429.

Klein T. , Martens H. , Dijk DJ , Kronauer RE , Seely EW , and Czeisler CA ( 1993) Circadian sleep regulation in the absence of light perception: chronic non-24-hour circadian rhythm sleep disorder in a blind man with a regular 24-hour sleep-wake schedule. Sleep 16:333-343.

Klerman EB ( 2001) Non-photic effects on the circadian system: results from experiments in blind and sighted individuals. In Zeitgebers, Entrainment and Masking of the Circadian System, K Honma and S Honma , eds, pp 155-169. Sapporo: Hokkaido University Press.

Klerman EB , Rimmer DW , Dijk D. , Kronauer RE , Rizzo III JF , and Czeisler CA ( 1998) Nonphotic entrainment of the human circadian pacemaker . Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 43:R991-996.

Leger D. , Guilleminault C. , Defrance R. , Domont A. , and Paillard M. ( 1999) Prevalence of sleep-wake disorders in persons with blindness . Clin Sci 97:193-199.

Lewy A. ( 2007) Melatonin and human chronobiology. Cold Spring Harbor Symposia on Quantitative Biology 72:626-636.

10.

Lewy AJ , Emens JS , Bernert RA , Lefler BJ ( 2004) Eventual entrainment of the human circadian pacemaker by melatonin is independent of the circadian phase of treatment initiation: clinical implications. J Biol Rhythms 19:68-75.

11.

Lewy AJ and Newsome DA (1983) Different types of melatonin circadian secretory rhythms in some blind subjects . J Clin Endocrinol Metab 56:1103-1107.

12.

Lockley SW , Skene DJ , Arendt J. , Tabandeh H. , Bird AC , and Defrance R. ( 1997a) Relationship between melatonin rhythms and visual loss in the blind. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 82:3763-3770.

13.

Lockley SW , Skene DJ , Butler LJ , and Arendt J. ( 1999) Sleep and the activity rhythms are related to circadian phase in the blind. Sleep 22:616-623.

14.

Lockley SW , Skene DJ , Tabandeh H. , Bird AC , Defrance R. , and Arendt J. ( 1997b) Relationship between napping and melatonin in the blind . J Biol Rhythms 12:16-25.

15.

Morgenthaler TI , Lee-Chiong TL , Alessi C. , Friedman L. , Aurora RN , Boehlecke B. , Brown T. , Chesson AL , Kapur V. , Magnanti R. , et al. (2007) Practice parameters for the clinical evaluation and treatment of circadian rhythm sleep disorders. Sleep 30:1445-1459.

16.

Sack RL , Auckley D. , Auger RR , Carskadon MA , Wright KP , Vitiello MV , and Zhdanova I. ( 2007) Circadian rhythm sleep disorders, part II: advanced sleep phase disorder, delayed sleep phase disorder, free-running disorder, and irregular sleep-wake rhythm. Sleep 30:1484-1501.

17.

Sack RL , Brandes RW , Kendall AR , and Lewy AJ ( 2000) Entrainment of free-running circadian rhythms by melatonin in blind people. N Engl J Med 343: 1070-1077.

18.

Sack RL , Lewy AJ , Blood ML , Keith LD , and Nakagawa H. ( 1992) Circadian rhythm abnormalities in totally blind people: incidence and clinical significance. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 75:127-134.

19.

Scheer F. , Wright KP , Kronauer RE , and Czeisler CA ( 2007) Plasticity of the intrinsic period of the human circadian timing system. PLoS One 2:e271.

20.

Sokolove PG and Bushell WN ( 1978) The chi square periodogram: its utility for analysis of circadian rhythms. J Theor Biol 72:131-160.

21.

Voultsios A. , Kennaway DJ , and Dawson D. ( 1997) Salivary melatonin as a circadian phase marker: validation and comparison to plasma melatonin. J Biol Rhythms 12: 457-466.

Supplementary Material

Please find the following supplemental material available below.

For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.

For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.

0.00 MB

0.20 MB