EXTRAOCULAR CIRCADIAN PHOTOTRANSDUCTION IN HUMANS

描述（申请人摘要）：昼夜节律睡眠障碍和 季节性情感障碍影响着广泛的人群， 年龄范围。定时暴露在明亮的光线下显示出作为一种有效的 用于减轻这种睡眠和情绪障碍的治疗， 涉及到生物计时系统。然而，目前的光治疗 实践中在用户依从性和有效性方面具有显著的缺点。 管理的时间。大多数光的耗时和乏味的性质 治疗方案使许多人难以在持续的情况下使用它们。 持续的基础。此外，内源性生物钟的反应性质 光决定了最大的效果是在人们 通常是睡着了。 我们已经证明了人类的生物钟对眼外光的反应 以类似于当光呈现给眼睛时的方式暴露。这 人类眼外生物钟重置的发现， 目前使治疗应用复杂化的问题的令人兴奋的解决方案 明亮的光。通过消除经由视网膜接收光的需要， 可以使光传输系统更容易携带， 对用户行为的干扰。也许更重要的是，通过消除 为了通过眼睛接收光，可以想象的是， 即使在患者睡着时也能实现，从而提高了易用性， 利用最佳的光施用时间。 然而，在治疗方法和方案能够成功开发之前， 使用眼外部位实施，重要的是要确认和扩大我们的 原创发现该项目将在这方面采取两个重要步骤： 首先，我们建议使用更大的研究样本复制我们的原始研究 更合适的控制。其次，提出了对相位进行表征 睡眠期间生物钟对眼外光的反应。在 两项基于实验室的研究，都使用了平衡设计，我们将 检查了72名健康年轻人的相关昼夜节律参数， 在基线、活性和对照条件下。这些研究涉及的问题 对于光治疗的成功开发和实施至关重要 使用眼外曝光，他们形成了一个更完整的基础， 了解光在人类生理节律中的作用。

DESCRIPTION (applicant's abstract): Circadian rhythm sleep disorders and seasonal affective disorder affect a large number of individuals across a wide age range. Timed exposure to bright light shows promise as an effective treatment for alleviation of such sleep and mood disorders which are thought to involve the biological timing system. Yet, light treatment as currently practiced has significant drawbacks in terms of user compliance and efficacious timing of administration. The time-consuming and tedious nature of most light treatment regimens make them difficult for many people to use on a consistent and continuing basis. Moreover, the nature of the endogenous clock's response to light dictates that maximum effects are obtained at times when people are typically asleep. We have shown that the human circadian clock responds to extraocular light exposure in a manner similar to that when light is presented to the eyes. This finding of extraocular circadian clock resetting in humans offers potentially exciting solutions to the problems currently complicating the therapeutic use of bright light. By eliminating the need to receive light via the retinae, light delivery systems can be made more easily portable, and therefore, less intrusive on users' behavior. Perhaps more importantly, by eliminating the need to receive light through the eyes, treatment regimens conceivably may be implemented even while patients are asleep, thus enhancing ease of use and taking advantage of the most optimal times of light administration. Yet, before treatment approaches and regimens can be successfully developed and implemented using extraocular sites, it is important to confirm and expand our original findings. This project will take two important steps in this regard: First, we propose to replicate our original study using a larger study sample and more suitable controls. Secondly, it is proposed to characterize the phase response of the circadian clock to extraocular light presented during sleep. In two laboratory-based studies, both using a counter-balanced design, we will examine relevant circadian parameters in a total of 72 healthy young adults during baseline, active and control conditions. These studies address issues crucial to the successful development and implementation of light treatments using extraocular exposure, and they form the basis for a more complete understanding of the role of light in human circadian physiology.