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Cell Biology JoVE (Open Access) Citable · DOI

Human Circadian Phenotyping and Diurnal Performance Testing in the Real World

DOI: 10.3791/60448-v
What you'll learn
  • ✓ Classify human participants into circadian phenotypes using Munich ChronoType Questionnaire and biomarkers
  • ✓ Collect cortisol awakening response and dim light melatonin onset samples for phase assessment
  • ✓ Measure diurnal performance variation across circadian-phenotype groups in real-world conditions
Protocol

Biopharma Insights Here, we present a method to investigate diurnal rhythms in performance following accurate categorization of participants into circadian phenotype groups based on the Munich ChronoType Questionnaire, gold standard circadian phase biomarkers and actigraphic measures.

Difficulty
advanced
Total time
~7–14 days per participant (screening, two sampling sessions, performance testing across multiple timepoints)

Steps

1
Screen participants and establish experimental setup

Recruit and screen study participants using inclusion/exclusion criteria, obtain informed consent, and prepare sampling and testing equipment for circadian phenotyping protocol.

▶ 00:55
2
Collect morning cortisol awakening response samples

Instruct participants to collect saliva samples immediately upon waking and at specified intervals to measure cortisol awakening response as a circadian phase marker.

▶ 03:43
3
Conduct dim light melatonin onset evening sampling

Collect saliva samples in dim light conditions during evening to determine dim light melatonin onset (DLMO), a gold-standard circadian phase biomarker.

▶ 04:20
4
Perform diurnal performance testing and biomarker analysis

Administer performance tests across multiple timepoints throughout the day aligned with circadian phenotypes, and conduct radioimmunoassay on collected samples for quantification.

▶ 05:43
5
Analyze circadian phenotyping and performance data

Process cortisol and melatonin data to classify participants into circadian phenotype groups (morning, intermediate, evening), then correlate phenotype with diurnal performance test results.

▶ 07:23
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