Actogram: Difference between revisions
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== History == |
== History == |
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One of the first examples of |
One of the first examples of actograms being used in circadian biology was in Maynard Johnson’s Ph.D. thesis.<ref name=":0" /> Johnson compared the daily rhythms of different species of mice.<ref name=":2">{{Citation |last=Schwartz |first=William J. |title=Origins: A Brief Account of the Ancestry of Circadian Biology |date=2017 |url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-81-322-3688-7_1 |work=Biological Timekeeping: Clocks, Rhythms and Behaviour |pages=3–22 |editor-last=Kumar |editor-first=Vinod |access-date=2023-04-27 |place=New Delhi |publisher=Springer India |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-81-322-3688-7_1 |isbn=978-81-322-3686-3 |last2=Daan |first2=Serge}}</ref> One of the benefits noted about the actogram as a representation of animal activity was that it was easy to see rhythms in activity.<ref name=":0" /> |
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An early criticism of actograms was that the level of activity of the test subject could not be seen in an actogram.<ref name=":2" /> This was because the Esterline-Angus chart recorders that were used could not give a reliable measure of the amplitude of activity.<ref name=":2" /> |
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| ⚫ | In the 1960s, |
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| ⚫ | In the 1960s, Colin Pittendrigh was one of the first biologists to use a double-plotted actogram. Pittendrigh used double-plotted actograms when exploring the “after-effects”.<ref name=":2" /> The benefit to the double-plotted actogram was that Pittendrigh was able to notice rhythms that extended beyond 24 hours and the existence of two oscillators within organisms. |
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----<sup>[1]</sup> <nowiki>https://escholarship.org/content/qt1cs113rv/qt1cs113rv.pdf</nowiki> |
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<sup>[2]</sup> <nowiki>https://pure.rug.nl/ws/portalfiles/portal/108411695/2017_Chapter_8_.pdf</nowiki> |
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== Graph Interpretation == |
== Graph Interpretation == |
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Revision as of 17:01, 27 April 2023
An actogram is a plot that represents an organism's phases of activity and rest throughout the day.[1] It is commonly used to study the circadian rhythms of animals. Actograms can help researchers analyze the animal's patterns of activity and identify any underlying rhythms.[2] Actograms are used across biological disciplines within a circadian context, including ecology,[3] reproductive biology,[4] and sleep medicine.[5]
History
One of the first examples of actograms being used in circadian biology was in Maynard Johnson’s Ph.D. thesis.[2] Johnson compared the daily rhythms of different species of mice.[6] One of the benefits noted about the actogram as a representation of animal activity was that it was easy to see rhythms in activity.[2]
An early criticism of actograms was that the level of activity of the test subject could not be seen in an actogram.[6] This was because the Esterline-Angus chart recorders that were used could not give a reliable measure of the amplitude of activity.[6]
In the 1960s, Colin Pittendrigh was one of the first biologists to use a double-plotted actogram. Pittendrigh used double-plotted actograms when exploring the “after-effects”.[6] The benefit to the double-plotted actogram was that Pittendrigh was able to notice rhythms that extended beyond 24 hours and the existence of two oscillators within organisms.
[1] https://escholarship.org/content/qt1cs113rv/qt1cs113rv.pdf
[2] https://pure.rug.nl/ws/portalfiles/portal/108411695/2017_Chapter_8_.pdf
Graph Interpretation
Actograms typically have a bar above the graph that indicates the lighting conditions that the subject was exposed to. Dark bars indicate periods of total darkness, and white bars indicate periods of light.
On the graph itself, the x-axis indicates the time of day, typically in 24-hour cycles. The y-axis indicates the days of the experiment. The graph either plots periods of activity or of rest, as specified by the author.
If periods of activity and rest align with the lighting conditions, then the subject is assumed to be entrained to those conditions.[7] If there is a clear rhythm in activity that does not correspond to lighting conditions, or exists in constant darkness, the subject is said to be free-running. In free-running actograms, the period of activity is typically offset each day from the previous day, due to the fact that biological clocks rarely follow an exactly 24-hour cycle. If data points shift to the left, the subject is running on a cycle less than 24 hours. If they shift to the right, it is running on a greater than 24-hour cycle. If the graph shows arrhythmicity with no clear pattern, then the subject may not have a functioning internal biological clock or may have a disruption in the clock's output.
Double-Plotted Actogram
While actograms typically plot one 24-hour cycle at a time, double-plotted actograms plot two 24-hour cycles side by side. Double-plotted actograms are interpreted in the same way as single-plotted actograms. However, double-plotted graphs can make it easier to read and interpret data, especially from free-running organisms.
Phase Response Curves Derived from Actograms
One of the most common ways that actograms are used in data sets is by translation into phase response curves. An actogram’s period shows an organism’s activity rhythm in light or dark conditions. An organism’s phase can be influenced by external stimuli, either causing an advance or delay in their activity or not affecting it. These changes in activity are called phase shifts. Phase response curves are a way of showing the phase shifts in the actogram’s data in line graph form, shifting focus from activity and rest onset to a possible range of entrainment of the organism. The y-axis of the phase response curve is the phase shift in hours, and the x-axis is circadian time in hours. When an external stimulus produces no phase shift, the line approaches y equals zero. This part of the phase response curve is referred to as the dead zone. When an external stimulus produces a phase delay, y values are less than zero. This part of the phase response curve is referred to as the delay zone. When an external stimulus produces a phase advance, y values are greater than zero. This part is referred to as the advance zone.[8]
External Links
CRAN and PubMed outline tools to create and analyze actograms.
References
- ^ "Glossary". ccb.ucsd.edu. Retrieved 2023-04-14.
- ^ a b c Bechtel, William (2012). "Diagramming Phenomena for Mechanistic Explanation" (PDF). Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society. 34 (34): 103–105.
- ^ Bäckman, Johan; Andersson, Arne; Pedersen, Lykke; Sjöberg, Sissel; Tøttrup, Anders P.; Alerstam, Thomas (2017-07-01). "Actogram analysis of free-flying migratory birds: new perspectives based on acceleration logging". Journal of Comparative Physiology A. 203 (6): 543–564. doi:10.1007/s00359-017-1165-9. ISSN 1432-1351. PMC 5522517. PMID 28343237.
- ^ Maeda, Kazuo; Tatsumura, Masato; Utsu, Masaji (1999-12-01). "Analysis of Fetal Movements by Doppler Actocardiogram and Fetal B-Mode Imaging". Clinics in Perinatology. Fetal and Neonatal Physiologic Measurements. 26 (4): 829–851. doi:10.1016/S0095-5108(18)30022-8. ISSN 0095-5108.
- ^ Penzel, T; Kesper, K; Ploch, T; Becker, HF; Vogelmeier, C (2005-03-03). "Ambulante Diagnostik der Schlafapnoe mit peripherer arterieller Tonometrie". Pneumologie. 59 (S 1). doi:10.1055/s-2005-864453. ISSN 0934-8387.
- ^ a b c d Schwartz, William J.; Daan, Serge (2017), Kumar, Vinod (ed.), "Origins: A Brief Account of the Ancestry of Circadian Biology", Biological Timekeeping: Clocks, Rhythms and Behaviour, New Delhi: Springer India, pp. 3–22, doi:10.1007/978-81-322-3688-7_1, ISBN 978-81-322-3686-3, retrieved 2023-04-27
- ^ Vitaterna, M. H.; Takahashi, J. S.; Turek, F. W. (2001). "Overview of circadian rhythms". Alcohol Research & Health: The Journal of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. 25 (2): 85–93. ISSN 1535-7414. PMC 6707128. PMID 11584554.
- ^ Jud, Corinne; Schmutz, Isabelle; Hampp, Gabriele; Oster, Henrik; Albrecht, Urs (2005). "A guideline for analyzing circadian wheel-running behavior in rodents under different lighting conditions". Biological Procedures Online. 7 (1): 101–116. doi:10.1251/bpo109. ISSN 1480-9222.