Top

Published in:

01-01-2013 | Original Article

Free-running circadian rhythms of muscle strength, reaction time, and body temperature in totally blind people

Authors: Camila Fabiana Rossi Squarcini, Maria Laura Nogueira Pires, Cleide Lopes, Ana Amélia Benedito-Silva, Andrea Maculano Esteves, Germaine Cornelissen-Guillaume, Carolina Matarazzo, Danilo Garcia, Maria Stella Peccin da Silva, Sergio Tufik, Marco Túlio de Mello

Published in: European Journal of Applied Physiology | Issue 1/2013

Abstract

Light is the major synchronizer of circadian rhythms. In the absence of light, as for totally blind people, some variables, such as body temperature, have an endogenous period that is longer than 24 h and tend to be free running. However, the circadian rhythm of muscle strength and reaction time in totally blind people has not been defined in the literature. The objective of this study was to determine the period of the endogenous circadian rhythm of the isometric and isokinetic contraction strength and simple reaction time of totally blind people. The study included six totally blind people with free-running circadian rhythms and four sighted people (control group). Although the control group required only a single session to determine the circadian rhythm, the blind people required three sessions to determine the endogenous period. In each session, isometric strength, isokinetic strength, reaction time, and body temperature were collected six different times a day with an interval of at least 8 h. The control group had better performance for strength and reaction time in the afternoon. For the blind, this performance became delayed throughout the day. Therefore, we conclude that the circadian rhythms of strength and simple reaction time of totally blind people are within their free-running periods. For some professionals, like the blind paralympic athletes, activities that require large physiological capacities in which the maximum stimulus should match the ideal time of competition may result in the blind athletes falling short of their expected performance under this free-running condition.

Ashkenazi IE, Reinberg A, Bicakova-Rocher A, Ticher A (1993) The genetic background of individual variations of circadian-rhythm periods in healthy human adults. Am J Human Genet 52(6):1250–1259

Atkinson G, Reilly T (1996) Circadian variation in sports performance. Sports Med 21(4):292–312PubMedCrossRef

Benedito-Silva AA (1997) Aspectos metodológicos de la cronobiologia. In: Marques N, Menna-Barreto L, Golombek D (eds) Cronobiologia: Princípios y Aplicaciones. Eudeba, Buenos Aires, pp 239–262

Blatter K, Cajochen C (2007) Circadian rhythms in cognitive performance: methodological constraints, protocols, theoretical underpinnings. Physiol Behav 90(2–3):196–208PubMedCrossRef

Blatter K, Graw P, Munch M, Knoblauch V, Wirz-Justice A, Cajochen C (2006) Gender and age differences in psychomotor vigilance performance under differential sleep pressure conditions. Behav Brain Res 168(2):312–317PubMedCrossRef

Coldwells A, Atkinson G, Reilly T (1994) Sources of variation in back and leg dynamometry. Ergonomics 37(1):79–86PubMedCrossRef

Dinges DF, Powell JW (1985) Microcomputer analyses of performance on a portable, simple visual RT task during sustained operations. Behav Res Methods Inst Comp 17:652–655CrossRef

Drouin JM, Valovich-mcLeod TC, Shultz SJ, Gansneder BM, Perrin DH (2004) Reliability and validity of the Biodex system 3 pro isokinetic dynamometer velocity, torque and position measurements. Eur J Appl Physiol 91(1):22–29PubMedCrossRef

Drummond SPA, Bischoff-Grethe A, Dinges DF, Ayalon L, Mednick SC, Meloy MJ (2005) The neural basis of the psychomotor vigilance task. Sleep 28(9):1059–1068PubMed

Giacomoni M, Edwards B, Bambaeichi E (2005) Gender differences in the circadian variations in muscle strength assessed with and without superimposed electrical twitches. Ergonomics 48(11–14):1473–1487PubMedCrossRef

Graw P, Krauchi K, Knoblauch V, Wirz-Justice A, Cajochen C (2004) Circadian and wake-dependent modulation of fastest and slowest reaction times during the psychomotor vigilance task. Physiol Behav 80(5):695–701PubMedCrossRef

Greenes DS, Fleisher GR (2001) Accuracy of a noninvasive temporal artery thermometer for use in infants. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 155(3):376–381PubMed

Hakkinen K, Kraemer WJ, Newton RU, Alen M (2001) Changes in electromyographic activity, muscle fibre and force production characteristics during heavy resistance/power strength training in middle-aged and older men and women. Acta Physiol Scand 171(1):51–62PubMed

Harkness JA, Richter MB, Panayi GS, Van de Pette K, Unger A, Pownall R, Geddawi M (1982) Circadian variation in disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis. Br Med J 284(6315):551–555CrossRef

Horvat M, Ray C, Nocera J, Croce R (2006) Comparison of isokinetic peak force and power in adults with partial and total blindness. Percept Mot Skills 103(1):231–237PubMedCrossRef

Lewy AJ, Emens J, Sack RL, Hasler BP, Bernert RA (2003) Zeitgeber hierarchy in humans: resetting the circadian phase positions of blind people using melatonin. Chronobiol Int 20(5):837–852PubMedCrossRef

Lewy AJ, Newsome DA (1983) Different types of melatonin circadian secretory rhythms in some blind subjects. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 56(6):1103–1107PubMedCrossRef

Lockley SW, Dijk DJ, Kosti O, Skene DJ, Arendt J (2008) Alertness, mood and performance rhythm disturbances associated with circadian sleep disorders in the blind. J Sleep Res 17(2):207–216PubMedCrossRef

Lockley SW, Skene DJ, James K, Thapan K, Wright J, Arendt J (2000) Melatonin administration can entrain the free-running circadian system of blind subjects. J Endocrinol 164(1):R1–R6PubMedCrossRef

Lockley SW, Skene DJ, Tabandeh H, Bird AC, Defrance R, Arendt J (1997) Relationship between napping and melatonin in the blind. J Biol Rhythms 12(1):16–25PubMedCrossRef

Loh S, Lamond N, Dorrian J, Roach G, Dawson D (2004) The validity of psychomotor vigilance tasks of less than 10-minute duration. Behav Res Methods Instrum Comput 36(2):339–346PubMedCrossRef

Mathiowetz V, Weber K, Volland G, Kashman N (1984) Reliability and validity of grip and pinch strength evaluations. J Hand Surg 9(2):222–226

Meijer JH, Schwartz WJ (2003) In search of the pathways for light-induced pacemaker ressetting in the suprachiasmatic nucleus. J Biol Rhythms 18(3):235–249PubMedCrossRef

Miles LEM, Raynal DM, Wilson MA (1977) Blind man living in normal society has circadian rhythms of 24.9 hours. Science 198(4315):421–423

Moore RY, Speh JC, Leak RK (2002) Suprachiasmatic nucleus organization. Cell Tissue Res 309(1):89–98PubMedCrossRef

Moore RY (1997) Circadian rhythm: basic neurobiology and clinical applications. Annu Rev Med 48:253–266PubMedCrossRef

Nakagawa H, Sack RL, Lewy AJ (1992) Sleep propensity free-runs with the temperature, melatonin and cortisol rhythms in a totally blind person. Sleep 15(4):330–336PubMed

Nelson W, Tong YL, Lee JK, Halberg F (1979) Methods for cosinor-rhythmometry. Chronobiologia 6(4):305–323PubMed

Peirson S, Foster RG (2006) Melanopsin: another way of signaling light. Neuron 49(3):331–339PubMedCrossRef

Reilly T, Atkinson G, Waterhouse J (2000) Chronobiology and physical performance. In: Garret WE, Kirkendall DT (eds) Exercise and sport science. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Philadelphia, pp 351–372

Reilly T, Atkinson G, Waterhouse J (1997) Circadian rhythms in sports performance. In: Reilly T, Atkinson G, Waterhouse J (eds) Biological rhythms and exercise. Oxford University Press, USA, pp 38–61

Reilly T, Waterhouse J (2009) Sports performance: is there evidence that the body clock plays a role? Eur J Appl Physiol 106(3):321–332PubMedCrossRef

Reinberg A, Bicakova-Rocher A, Mechkouri M, Ashkenazi I (2002) Right- and left-brain hemisphere. Rhythm in reaction time to light signals is task-load-dependent: age, gender, and handgrip strength rhythm comparisons. Chronobiol Int 19(6):1087–1106PubMedCrossRef

Reinberg AE, Bicakova-Rocher A, Gorceix A, Ashkenazi IE, Smolensky MH (1994) Placebo effect on the circadian rhythm period tau of temperature and hand-grip strength rhythms: interindividual and gender-related difference. Chronobiol Int 11(1):45–53PubMedCrossRef

Sack RL, Lewy AJ, Blood ML, Keith LD, Nakagawa H (1992) Circadian rhythm abnormalities in totally blind people: incidence and clinical significance. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 75(1):127–134PubMedCrossRef

Sack RL, Lewy AJ (2001) Circadian rhythm sleep disorders: lessons from the blind. Sleep Med Rev 5(3):189–206PubMedCrossRef

Skene DJ, Lockley SW, James K, Arendt J (1999) Correlation between urinary cortisol and 6-sulphatoxymelatonin rhythms in field studies of blind subjects. Clin Endocrinol 50(6):715–719CrossRef

Touitou Y, Smolensky MH, Portaluppi F (2006) Ethics, standards, and procedures of animal and human chronobiology research. Chronobiol Int 23(6):1083–1096PubMedCrossRef

Uusi-Rasi K, Sievanen H, Rinne M, Oja P, Vuori I (2001) Bone mineral density of visually handicapped women. Clin Physiol 21(4):498–503PubMedCrossRef

Van Dongen HP, Dinges DF (2005) Sleep, circadian rhythms, and psychomotor vigilance. Clin Sports Med 24(2):237–249PubMedCrossRef

Waterhouse J, Drust B, Weinert D, Edwards B, Gregson W, Atkinson G, Kao S, Aizawa S, Reilly T (2005) The circadian rhythm of body temperature: origin and some implications for exercise performance. Chronobiol Int 22(2):207–225PubMedCrossRef

World Medical Association (2011) Declaration of Helsinki—ethical principles for medical research involving human subjects. http://www.wma.net/en/30publications/10policies/b3/17c.pdf. Accessed 27 May 2011

Wright KP Jr, Hull JT, Czeisler CA (2002) Relationship between alertness, performance, and body temperature in humans. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 283(6):R1370–R1377PubMed

Wyse JP, Mercer TH, Gleeson NP (1994) Time-of-day dependence of isokinetic leg strength and associated interday variability. Br J Sports Med 28(3):167–170PubMedCrossRef

Title: Free-running circadian rhythms of muscle strength, reaction time, and body temperature in totally blind people
Authors: Camila Fabiana Rossi Squarcini
Maria Laura Nogueira Pires
Cleide Lopes
Ana Amélia Benedito-Silva
Andrea Maculano Esteves
Germaine Cornelissen-Guillaume
Carolina Matarazzo
Danilo Garcia
Maria Stella Peccin da Silva
Sergio Tufik
Marco Túlio de Mello
Publication date: 01-01-2013
Publisher: Springer-Verlag
Published in: European Journal of Applied Physiology / Issue 1/2013
Print ISSN: 1439-6319
Electronic ISSN: 1439-6327
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-012-2415-8

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

Springer Medicine

Free-running circadian rhythms of muscle strength, reaction time, and body temperature in totally blind people

Abstract

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

Springer Medicine

Abstract

Please log in to get access to this content

Other articles of this Issue 1/2013

Noninvasive assessment of normality of V D/V T in clinical cardiopulmonary exercise testing utilizing incremental cycle ergometry

Time-course response in serum markers of bone turnover to a single-bout of electrical stimulation in patients with recent spinal cord injury

Partial heat acclimation of athletes with spinal cord lesion

Changes in arterial blood pressure elicited by severe passive heating at rest is associated with hyperthermia-induced hyperventilation in humans

Regenerative responses in slow- and fast-twitch muscles following moderate contusion spinal cord injury and locomotor training

Influence of heat stress and exercise intensity on vastus lateralis muscle and prefrontal cortex oxygenation