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redcathode.bsky.social
max
@redcathode.bsky.social
64 followers 130 following 78 posts
hiya! i'm max. i primarily talk about electronics, programming, and psychiatric research (weird combo, i know)
seldom-updated website: https://redcatho.de
[he/they, 18]
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redcathode.bsky.social
latest random project: panel of around 800 460nm blue LEDs. (pwr: like 50-60w)

theoretically this should be the around the optimal wavelength for targeting pRGCs (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intrins...). i may have very little idea of what i'm doing but let's see what happens
a 7.5x10 inch protoboard with around 600 5mm LEDs sits on a wooden table next to a pair of flush cuts and a bowl of discarded LED leads
November 1, 2024 at 3:34 PM
redcathode.bsky.social
how's this
1 hr, 5 min of screen time, most of it split between phone, YouTube, and bluesky the day is suspiciously the lowest by far on the bar chart for the week
November 1, 2024 at 12:11 PM
redcathode.bsky.social
this is pretty interesting. periodic exposure to very brief (2ms) flashes of light for an extended period of time can, while not making you feel less subjectively sleepy, suppress melatonin secretion and delay sleep onset by ~2hrs on average

src: doi.org/10.1172/jci8...
METHODS. Thirty-nine participants were exposed to 60 minutes of either continuous light (n = 8) or sequences of 2-millisecond light flashes (n = 31) with different interstimulus intervals (ISIs; ranging from 2.5 to 240 seconds). Melatonin phase shift and suppression, along with changes in alertness and sleepiness, were assessed. RESULTS. We determined that the human circadian system integrates flash sequences in a nonlinear fashion with a linear rise to a peak response (ISI = 7.6 ± 0.53 seconds) and a power function decrease following the peak of responsivity. At peak ISI, flashes were at least 2-fold more effective in phase delaying the circadian system as compared with exposure to equiluminous continuous light 3,800 times the duration. Flashes did not change melatonin concentrations or alertness in an ISI-dependent manner. CONCLUSION. We have demonstrated that intermittent light is more effective than continuous light at eliciting circadian changes. These findings cast light on the phenomenology of photic integration and suggest a dichotomous retinohypothalamic network leading to circadian phase shifting and other NIF photoresponses. Further clinical trials are required to judge the practicality of light flash protocols. Figure 3. Change in melatonin phase shift as a function of the ISI. An initial linear rise to peak circadian phase change (~1.85 hours phase delay) was observed when flashes were separated by 2.5 to 7.6 seconds of darkness. Thereafter, light-evoked phase shifts dropped following an exponential decay curve as ISI increased (n = 31). Responses of individuals (black circles) are plotted with the modeled curve (red line) and 95% CIs (dotted red lines). The average circadian phase delay of –0.60 ± 0.34 hours to a continuous 60-minute white light exposure is represented a dark gray horizontal bar, while the individual phase shift to continuous light is represented by yellow diamonds. Average phase shift induced by a similar protocol without light administration (data previously published in Zeitzer et al., ref. 44) is represented by a gray diamond with error bars (mean ± SD). In some participants, flashes separated by an ISI of 5 and 10 seconds induced over 2 hours of circadian phase shift. Negative values on the y scale indicate a phase delay.
October 30, 2024 at 3:14 PM
redcathode.bsky.social
hi chat
pic of my room. you can see the corner of a bamboo scaffold close to my ceiling, carrying ziptie-laden bundles of wire and water cooling lines. there's one high-power LED visible in frame, of a total of 12. also visible is a pump, fan, water cooling reservoir, and a variac with a stepper motor mounted to the top of it
October 30, 2024 at 1:11 PM