Biomaterial Database

Circadian rhythm in goldfish visual sensitivity. 1987

C J Bassi, and M K Powers

Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee.

To determine whether rod-mediated vision in goldfish is regulated by a circadian clock, absolute threshold was measured psychophysically in animals maintained in constant darkness. Responses were recorded approximately every 4 hr to a diffuse 532 nm stimulus, 5 sec in duration, with no background light present. Visual threshold tended to be lowest at the time of transition from light to dark, as experienced by the fish before it was placed in constant darkness. Threshold tended to be highest at the time of transition from dark to light. The average peak-to-trough fluctuation for five fish was 0.5 log unit in amplitude, and its period was about 24 hr. The results show that the rhythm in visual threshold can still be detected after 7 days of darkness, and that it can be entrained to a new light-dark cycle. These properties are characteristic of regulation by a circadian oscillator.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D002940	Circadian Rhythm	The regular recurrence, in cycles of about 24 hours, of biological processes or activities, such as sensitivity to drugs or environmental and physiological stimuli.	Diurnal Rhythm,Nyctohemeral Rhythm,Twenty-Four Hour Rhythm,Nycthemeral Rhythm,Circadian Rhythms,Diurnal Rhythms,Nycthemeral Rhythms,Nyctohemeral Rhythms,Rhythm, Circadian,Rhythm, Diurnal,Rhythm, Nycthemeral,Rhythm, Nyctohemeral,Rhythm, Twenty-Four Hour,Rhythms, Circadian,Rhythms, Diurnal,Rhythms, Nycthemeral,Rhythms, Nyctohemeral,Rhythms, Twenty-Four Hour,Twenty Four Hour Rhythm,Twenty-Four Hour Rhythms
D003530	Cyprinidae	A family of freshwater fish comprising the minnows or CARPS.	Barbels,Chub,Dace,Minnows,Roach (Fish),Shiner,Tench,Tinca,Barbus,Rutilus rutilus,Tinca tinca,Chubs,Shiners,Tinca tincas,tinca, Tinca
D006054	Goldfish	Common name for Carassius auratus, a type of carp (CARPS).	Carassius auratus
D000818	Animals	Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA.	Animal,Metazoa,Animalia
D012684	Sensory Thresholds	The minimum amount of stimulus energy necessary to elicit a sensory response.	Sensory Threshold,Threshold, Sensory,Thresholds, Sensory
D014785	Vision, Ocular	The process in which light signals are transformed by the PHOTORECEPTOR CELLS into electrical signals which can then be transmitted to the brain.	Vision,Light Signal Transduction, Visual,Ocular Vision,Visual Light Signal Transduction,Visual Phototransduction,Visual Transduction,Phototransduction, Visual,Transduction, Visual