1. Stuart R. Steinhauer, Ph.D.
Pupillary Physiology
Stuart R. Steinhauer, Ph.D.
Biometrics Research Program
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
& VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System (
Society for Psychophysiological Research Workshop, Boston, September 14, 2011

2. little is achieved by one alone, Thanks to all of the following:
Greg J. Siegle, Ph.D.
Ruth Condray, Ph.D.
Samay Jain, M.D.
Beatrice Chakraborty, Psy.D.
Adam L. Clarke, B.S.
Erin E. Kelly, B.S.
J. Richard Jennings, Shirley Y. Hill, Lisa A. Morrow
Gad Hakerem, Joseph Zubin, Samuel Sutton
Work has been supported by the Department of Veterans Affairs and
National Institute of Mental Health

5. Pupil of the Eye.net     
Pupil of the Eye ... United in Spirit ... In Service to All
“Bahá'u'lláh once compared the coloured people to the black pupil of the eye surrounded by the white. In this black pupil you see the reflection of that which is before it, and through it the light of the Spirit shines forth. In the sight of God colour makes no difference at all, He looks at the hearts of men. That which God desires from men is the heart...” 

6. Gray’s Anatomy, 20th Ed., via Wikipedia

8. http://www. army-technology. com/features/feature1644/feature1644-4

14. Measuring sustained cognitive
load via pupil dilation

15. Horizontal Diameter Measured to .025 mm, 60/sec

18. Alexandritis, 1985

19. n.III Oculomotor Nucleus

20. Edinger Westphal Nucleus (4 on right figure)

23. Alexandritis, 1985

25. Hypothalamic Nuclei

27. Posterior Hypothalamic Nuclei (sympathetic)

28. Lowenstein, 1955 Inhibition of Dilation Constriction 7 Hypothalamus
12 Oculomotor nucleus
Emphasize pathways that either stimulate sympathetic or inhibit parasympathetic system
This slide shows movement with successive clicks during presentation

29. White & Depue, J.Pers.Soc.Psychol., 1999, quoting Ranson & Clark, 1959

30. White & Depue, J.Pers.Soc.Psychol., 1999, quoting Ranson & Clark, 1959

31. Autonomic Contributions to Pupillary Dilation

32. Experimental Dissociation of Sympathetic and Parasympathetic Components

33. Prefrontal Cortex (PFC) inhibits E-W &
Serial “Subtraction” Task
Begin Data Collection
End Data Collection
Instructions:
Subtract 7
or Add 1
Verbalize
5 sec
60 sec
Reticular Activating System inhibits Edinger-Westphal center of Oculomotor Nucleus
Prefrontal Cortex (PFC) inhibits E-W &
Activates Posterior Hypothalamus

34. Pupil Diameter Increases With Task Demand
Steinhauer et al., Int. J. Psychophysiology, 2004

35. What can interfere with the light reflex
What can interfere with the light reflex? (other than brightness, visual field, hue)
Fear (Szabadi, Bitsios, 1996)
Apprehension (Loewenfeld, 1958; 1993)
Motor response (Loewenfeld, 1993; Gavriysky, 1991)
Cognition (Steinhauer, 2000)

36. Light Duration = 1000 msec, Tone Duration = 40 msec
Motor Response cued by tone inhibits Light Reaction even after onset of light stimulus
Light Duration = 1000 msec, Tone Duration = 40 msec

37. Effect of Task Demand on Light Reaction

38. (n = 29 healthy subjects) Light Reaction, Superimposed at Baseline
Placebo -1
-0.8
-0.6
-0.4
-0.2
0.2
-200
200
600
1000
1400
1800
2200
2600
3000
3400
Time (msec)
Change in
Diameter (mm)
Placebo, Subtract 7
Placebo, Add 1
Placebo, No Task
Light Stimulus
(n = 29 healthy subjects)
Same data as previous slide; Lining up at baseline indicates that light reaction is decreased only with high cognitive load

39. Prestimulus Pupil Diameter
Serial -7
Serial +1
Light Only
Pre-stimulus Diameter (mm)
7.0
6.5
6.0
5.5
5.0
4.5
GROUP
Control
Schizophrenic
Alcoholic
Group: F1,35 = 5.6, p=0.008
Condition: F 1.4,50.1 = 47.1 , p < 0.001

41. Loewenfeld, 1993

42. Dapiprazole
Loewenfeld, 1993

43. Steinhauer et al., Int. J. Psychophysiology, 2004
Blockade of Sphincter or Dilator on Diameter in relation to Task Demand
Steinhauer et al., Int. J. Psychophysiology, 2004

45. Placebo Dapiprazole Tropicamide
(Block Dilator) (Block Sphincter) 8
7.5
No Task and Add 1
superimposed 7
Subtract 7
6.5
Add 1 6
No Task
Diameter (mm)
5.5 5
4.5 4
-200
200
600
1000
1400
1800
2200
2600
3000
3400
-200
200
600
1000
1400
1800
2200
2600
3000
3400
-200
200
600
1000
1400
1800
2200
2600
3000
3400
Time (msec)

47. Mike – Just to demonstrate some pupillary and ERP changes with probability; Steinhauer, S., and Zubin, J.(1982). Vulnerability to schizophrenia: Information processing in the pupil and event-related potential. In: E. Usdin and I. Hanin (Eds.), Biological markers in psychiatry and neurology. Oxford: Pergamon Press(1982),
Steinhauer & Zubin, 1982

48. Note both amplitude differences and waveshapes.

49. Model – note particularly early effects of parasympathetic activity; Steinhauer, S.R., and Hakerem, G. (1992). The pupillary response in cognitive psychophysiology and schizophrenia. In: Friedman, D., and Bruder, G. (Eds.), Psychophysiology and experimental psychopathology: A tribute to Samuel Sutton. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 658:
Steinhauer & Hakerem, 1992

52. (n = 11 healthy subjects)

53. (n = 11 healthy subjects)

54. Harrison et al., SCAN, 2006

58. Dept. of Neurology, Columbia University
Irene E. Loewenfeld, Ph.D.
Dept. of Neurology, Columbia University
Kresge Eye Institute, Wayne State University

59. Funded by the National Library of Medicine Grant #G08 LM A collaboration of the Spencer S. Eccles Health Sciences Library, University of Utah, and the North American Neuro-Ophthalmology Society (NANOS)

60. H. Stanley Thompson, M.D. Randy Kardon, M.D.
Neuro-opthalmology Service, University of Iowa

61. Gad Hakerem & Irene Loewenfeld, 2005 Pupil Colloquium, NY

62. Eckhard Hess

63. Daniel Kahneman, Ph.D. Jackson Beatty, Ph.D.

64. Iridology?