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Sömnsvårigheter drabbar ungefär 50-80% av personer med autism och ca 43-80% av personer med ADHD. Mot bakgrund av detta syftade studien till att undersöka om de dygnsrytmsreglerande fotoreceptorerna ipRGC är relaterade till sömnsvårigheterna vid diagnoserna. Det gjordes genom två hypoteser: den första var att gruppen med diagnostiserad autism och/eller ADHD har mer sömnsvårigheter än kontrollgruppen; den andra var att personer med autism och/eller ADHD har mindre pupillsammandragning vid blått ljus än kontrollgruppen. I studien användes eye tracking för att mäta pupillens reaktion av blått, rött  och grått stimuli. Utöver detta fyllde deltagarna i en enkät där de angav eventuella diagnoser samt besvarade frågor angående deras sömn. Resultatet visar att det finns en statistisk signifikant högre prevalens av sömnbesvär hos deltagarna med autism och/eller ADHD i jämförelse mot kontrollgruppen. Dessutom visade resultatet på ett signifikant samband mellan sömnsvårigheter för hela urvalet och ipRGC-aktivering, men att ipRGC-aktivering som uppvisades för gruppen med deltagare som har autism och/eller ADHD inte skilde sig från kontrollgruppen. Studien ger stöd för att personer med autism och/eller ADHD har mer sömnsvårigheter, men inte att ipRGC-aktivering påverkar sömnen mer eller mindre vid dessa diagnoser.  

This study starts from the observation that there is a higher prevalence of sleep disorders among people with autism and/or ADHD than among the general population - as many as 50-80% of people with autism, and 43-80% of those with ADHD suffer from sleep difficulties. The study investigates whether the activation of the ganglion cells in the retina responsible for circadian photoentrainment, ipRGCs, are related to the overrepresentation of sleep difficulties co-occuring with the two diagnoses. Building on existing research, two hypotheses are explored: firstly, that there is a  higher prevalence of sleep difficulties amongst the participants with autism and/or ADHD than the participants without these diagnoses in the stratified sampling of this study; secondly, that the pupils of people with autism and/or ADHD has less contraction when exposed to blue light than the control group. The study was conducted using an eye-tracker to measure pupillary responses to the stimuli of blue, red and grey light. Additionally, the participants completed an anonymous survey, in which they disclosed a possible diagnosis as well as answered questions about their sleep patterns. The results show there is a statistically significant higher prevalence of sleep difficulties amongst the participants with autism and/or ADHD than the controls within the stratified sample in the study. Furthermore, the analysis indicated that the sleep difficulties for the sample population were significantly related to the ipRGC response, however, the ipRGC response was not related to autism or ADHD specifically. The study concludes that, although the prevalence of sleep disorders among the group with autism and/or ADHD cannot be interpreted through ipRGC responses, the finding that sleep difficulties overall are related to ipRGC responses warrants further studies. Likewise, further research is required to arrive at a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying the sleep difficulties experienced by people with autism and/or ADHD.