Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39672888›Full record

ArticleSleep2025

Pupillometric and perceptual approaches provide independent estimates of melanopsin activity in humans.

Tom Woelders, Altug Didikoglu, Lucien Bickerstaff, Timothy M Brown, Robert J Lucas

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Sleep, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Tom WoeldersDivision of Neuroscience, School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Biology Medicine and Health, Centre for Biological Timing, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.
Altug DidikogluDivision of Neuroscience, School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Biology Medicine and Health, Centre for Biological Timing, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-5582-6956
Lucien BickerstaffMax Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Translational Sensory & Circadian Neuroscience, Tübingen, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-2683-8130
Timothy M BrownDivision of Diabetes Endocrinology and Gastroenterology, School of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Biology Medicine and Health, Centre for Biological Timing, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.
Robert J LucasDivision of Neuroscience, School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Biology Medicine and Health, Centre for Biological Timing, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.

Funding

Wellcome TrustWellcome Trust Investigator 210684/Z/18/Z
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

STUDY

objectivesMelanopsin-expressing retinal ganglion cells, which provide light information to time sleep and entrain circadian clocks, also influence perceived brightness raising the possibility that psychophysical paradigms could be used to explore the origins and implications of variability in melanopic sensitivity. We aimed to develop accessible psychophysical tests of melanopic vision and relate outcomes with a pupillometric measure of melanopsin function (post-illumination pupil response) and prior light exposure.

methodsIndividually calibrated pairs of isoluminant stimuli differing in melanopic radiance from a four primary source were presented sequentially with superimposed random color offsets in a two alternative forced choice brightness preference paradigm to 41 naïve adult participants with personal light exposure data for the prior 7 days and post-illumination pupil response measures defined by comparing maintained pupil constriction for luminance matched "red" vs "blue" pulses.

resultsAcross participants we observed the expected tendency to report positive melanopsin contrast stimuli as "brighter" (one-tailed t-test p < 0.001), but with substantial inter-individual variability in both sensitivity (melanopsin contrast at criterion preference p = 0.75) and amplitude (preference at maximum melanopic contrast). There was little correlation between these psychophysical outcomes and post-illumination pupil response magnitude, or between either psychophysical or post-illumination pupil response measures and light history metrics (pairwise Pearson correlation coefficients -0.5> < 0.5). Random forest machine learning failed to satisfactorily predict outcome for either psychophysical or post-illumination pupil response measures based upon these inputs.

conclusionsOur findings reveal that estimates of melanopic function provided by perceptual and pupillometric paradigms can be largely independent of one another and of recent history of light exposure.

Indexed as

PupilRod OpsinsAdultFemaleHumansLightMaleMelanopsinPhotic StimulationPsychophysicsReflex, PupillaryRetinal Ganglion CellsYoung AdultMelanopsinRod Opsinsbrightnesscontrastlight sensitivitymelanopsinpost-illumination pupil responsesilent substitution

Identifiers

PMID39672888
PMCPMC11808064

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.