Actively Recruiting
Impact of Sex and Age on Non-visual Light Input That Affects Sleep and Circadian Rhythms
Led by Massachusetts General Hospital · Updated on 2025-04-27
48
Participants Needed
1
Research Sites
134 weeks
Total Duration
On this page
AI-Summary
What this Trial Is About
The goal of this clinical trial is to learn how the pupil responds to different light stimuli and how that relates to sleep and daily rhythms in healthy people of different ages. The main questions it aims to answer are: * Does the eye's pupil response to light stimuli differ by the sex and age of the participant? * Is the eye's pupil response to light stimuli related to each participant's sleep timing, their body clock timing, and their hormone responses to light. Participants will have a special eye exam and complete questionnaires before starting the study to see if they can participate. If they can participate, they will wear a special watch that monitors their activity and light levels for one week. Then they will live in a research room at the Mass General Hospital for 3 days/2 nights during which we will test their pupil response to light, their body clock timing, and their hormone responses to light.
CONDITIONS
Official Title
Impact of Sex and Age on Non-visual Light Input That Affects Sleep and Circadian Rhythms
Who Can Participate
Eligibility Criteria
You may qualify if you...
- Age between 18 and 85 years
- Habitual sleep onset between 10 pm and 1 am (healthy controls only)
- Habitual wake time between 5:30 am and 8:30 am (healthy controls only)
- Vision correctable to 20/30
- Medically stable
- Ability to speak, read, and understand English at a high school level or higher
You will not qualify if you...
- Color blindness as determined by Ishihara Color Blindness Test
- History of eye trauma, surgery, or abnormalities such as retinopathy, glaucoma, cataracts (except limited cataracts grade <2), amblyopia, macular degeneration, congenital color vision deficiencies, or blindness
- Abnormalities found on clinical eye exam that contraindicate participation
- Use of eye drops that affect pupil size or contractility (e.g., mydriatics, miotics) or glaucoma treatment drops like pilocarpine or brimonidine
- Current or past neurologic or psychiatric diseases including autonomic function disorders or migraines
- Psychiatric disorder requiring medication in a first-degree relative (healthy controls only)
- Current or past circadian rhythm sleep-wake disorders (healthy controls only)
- Use of drugs affecting pupil function, sleep, melatonin, or circadian rhythms
- Other disorders affecting intrinsically photosensitive Retinal Ganglion Cell function such as diabetes, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, or seasonal affective disorder
- Shift or night work in the past three months or history of night work in the past three years
- Travel across more than 2 time zones in the past three months
- Presence of depression with Beck Depression Inventory score greater than 14
- Pregnancy, less than 6 weeks postpartum, or breastfeeding
AI-Screening
AI-Powered Screening
Complete this quick 3-step screening to check your eligibility
Trial Site Locations
Total: 1 location
1
Massachusetts General Hospital
Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02114
Actively Recruiting
Research Team
E
Elizabeth B Klerman, MD PhD
CONTACT
How is the study designed?
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Masking
NONE
Allocation
NA
Model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary Purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Number of Arms
1
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