Distribution of spontaneous inter-blink interval in repeated measurements with and without topical ocular anesthesia

Borges, Felipe Placeres; Garcia, Denny M.; Cruz, Antônio Augusto Velasco e

doi:10.1590/s0004-27492010000400005

Cited by 21 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…Given that the main purpose of the eyelids and blinking is to maintain the corneal tear film (Sibony & Evinger, 1998; Evinger, 2010), it is not surprising that corneal afferent inputs modify spontaneous blinking. The blink rate increases with ocular irritation and decreases with corneal anesthesia (Ponder & Kennedy, 1927; Tsubota & Nakamori, 1995; Tsubota et al , 1996; Nakamori et al , 1997; Zaman et al , 1998; Schlote et al , 2004; Naase et al , 2005; Borges et al , 2010). Nevertheless, spontaneous blinking is not simply a reflection of corneal afferent inputs (Acosta et al , 1999; Al-Abdulmunem, 1999) because the kinematics of trigeminal reflex blinks are significantly different than those of spontaneous blinking (Evinger et al , 1991) and corneal and conjuntival anesthesia does not eliminate spontaneous blinking (Naase et al , 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterizing the Spontaneous Blink Generator: An Animal Model

Kaminer¹,

Powers²,

Horn³

et al. 2011

J. Neurosci.

156

136

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Although spontaneous blinking is one of the most frequent human movements, little is known about its neural basis. We developed a rat model of spontaneous blinking in order to identify and better characterize the spontaneous blink generator. We monitored spontaneous blinking for 55 min periods in normal conditions and after the induction of mild dry eye or dopaminergic drug challenges. The normal spontaneous blink rate was 5.3 ± 0.3 blinks/min. Dry eye or 1 mg/kg apomorphine significantly increased and 0.1 mg/kg haloperidol significantly decreased the blink rate. Additional analyses revealed a consistent temporal organization to spontaneous blinking with a median 750 s period that was independent of the spontaneous blink rate. Dry eye and dopaminergic challenges significantly modified the regularity of the normal pattern of episodes of frequent blinking interspersed with intervals having few blinks. Dry eye and apomorphine enhanced the regularity of this pattern, whereas haloperidol reduced its regularity. The simplest explanation for our data is that the spinal trigeminal complex is a critical element in the generation of spontaneous blinks; incorporating reflex blinks from dry eye and indirect basal ganglia inputs into the blink generator. Although human subjects exhibited a higher average blink rate (17.6 ± 2.4) than rats, the temporal pattern of spontaneous blinking was qualitatively similar for both species. These data demonstrate that rats are an appropriate model for investigating the neural basis of human spontaneous blinking and suggest that the spinal trigeminal complex is a major element in the spontaneous blink generator.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterizing the Spontaneous Blink Generator: An Animal Model

Kaminer¹,

Powers²,

Horn³

et al. 2011

J. Neurosci.

156

136

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…However, when the data are averaged in just one histogram, the resulting distributions are clearly positively skewed. 2,28 Our results indicate that the sampling size is an important factor when distribution shapes are analyzed, and the degree of symmetry changes when small samples are considered. If we accept that only the distributions with less than Ϫ1 or more than ϩ1 are highly skewed and those with coefficients between Ϫ[1/2] and ϩ[1/2] are approximately symmetric, 29 a significant number of subjects could be labeled as having symmetric distributions if a 5-minute period was considered.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 78%

Spontaneous Interblink Time Distributions in Patients with Graves' Orbitopathy and Normal Subjects

Garcia

Pinto

Barbosa

et al. 2011

Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci.

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“…(7, 13, 29–31) We found that an ocular surface air stimulus that was considered barely noticeable produced an increased frequency and regularity of blinking, whereas concentrating on a visual task produced less frequent and more irregularly spaced blinks. Blink duration was decreased when concentrating, presumably to minimize distraction by the eyelid during the task.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 82%

“…(7, 13, 29) Likewise, damage to corneal nerves following refractive surgery is associated with a lower blink rate,(30) whereas placing a contact lens on the eye, which could be considered an irritant to the ocular surface, has been reported to increase the blink rate. (31) The dry eye condition is associated with an increased blink rate,(6, 32) perhaps due to stimulation by the unstable tear film,(6) although few studies have investigated the connection between the tear film and blinking or devised experimental conditions with a relatively mild stimulus to the ocular surface.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…(27) While it is clear that substantial blockage, stimulation or alteration of corneal afferents by instilling an anesthetic,(7, 13, 29) wearing a contact lens(31) or neural damage(30) are sufficient to effect changes in blinking, little is known about the effect of lesser ocular surface stimuli on blinking in humans. For this reason, we designed a pilot study to explore the effects of a relatively mild air stimulus to the ocular surface while varying the level of attention to a visual task with simultaneous monitoring of tear film instability to examine any associated changes in blinking.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Effects of Mild Ocular Surface Stimulation and Concentration on Spontaneous Blink Parameters

Begley

Situ

et al. 2013

Current Eye Research

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Purpose This exploratory, pilot study compared the effects of concentrating on a visual task and a very mild ocular surface air stimulus on multiple blink parameters. Methods Ten subjects participated in this study. There were 2 visits, one with an ocular surface air stimulus (AS) and one without (NS). The AS was set at a level barely perceptible by subjects (approximately 0.6m/sec at the eye). At each visit, subjects performed a high (HC) and low concentration (LC) task. Blinking was tracked and tear-film breakup (TBU) was monitored simultaneously to measure blink parameters, including the interblink interval (IBI), blink amplitude, duration, maximum velocity and TBU before and after each blink. Results During the HC tasks, IBI was significant higher and blink duration was lower (repeated measures ANOVA, p< 0.05) than the LC tasks. The IBI in the AS-LC condition was significantly lower and less variable than in the NS-HC condition, whereas blink duration showed the opposite effect (Hotelling T2 test, p<0.005). There was high individual variation in correlations between blink amplitude and maximum velocity. The area of TBU was not significantly correlated with any blink parameter. Conclusions The lack of correlation between TBU and blinking suggests that many blinks are stimulated by internal controls, rather than direct stimulation of the ocular surface by TBU. This pilot study suggests that even very mild ocular surface stimulation produces opposite effects on the timing and duration of the blink, when compared to concentrating on a visual task. The HC task tends to decrease blink frequency and duration, presumably to minimize interruption by the eyelids, whereas mild ocular surface AS increased blink frequency and duration, most likely to increase protection of the ocular surface.

show abstract

Distribution of spontaneous inter-blink interval in repeated measurements with and without topical ocular anesthesia

Cited by 21 publications

References 15 publications

Characterizing the Spontaneous Blink Generator: An Animal Model

Characterizing the Spontaneous Blink Generator: An Animal Model

Spontaneous Interblink Time Distributions in Patients with Graves' Orbitopathy and Normal Subjects

The Effects of Mild Ocular Surface Stimulation and Concentration on Spontaneous Blink Parameters

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