Retinas could be an integral part of how our internal body clock works and a cure for jet lag may be just around the corner.
All life forms respond to the daily light-dark changes of day to night and these circadian rhythms are generated by an internal biological clock. This clock is controlled by neurons in one brain region – suprachiasmatic nucleus SCN.
SCN is influenced by environmental signals including information on light received by the retina, which is passed along nerve fibers. The study demonstrated that the retina contains vasopressin-expressing cells, which communicate exclusively with the SCN and have nothing to do with normal vision.
Vasopressin is a critical element in resetting the body’s internal clock, for example: after traveling long haul across time zones or working night shifts.
The study:
Involved testing of lab rats to see the effects of selectively destroying or activating the vasopressin- expressing cells in the retina.
The study aimed to provide a deeper understanding of the biological clock to begin to address the health problems that accompany rotational shift work- including a propensity for cancer, depression, sleep disturbances, gastrointestinal, metabolic and cardiovascular disorders, decreased immune responses and even decreased lifespan.
However, the results could be the key to developing a drug to reduce the symptoms of jet lag. These exciting results show potentially a new pharmacological route to manipulate our internal biological clocks. Studies in the future that alter vasopressin signaling through the eye could lead to developing eye drops to get rid of jet lag, though we still have a long way to go.