Refinetti R
Department of Psychology, College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, VA 23187.
Physiol Behav. 1993 Nov;54(5):869-75. doi: 10.1016/0031-9384(93)90294-p.
Data sets with known periodicity were used to compare the accuracy and noise tolerance of six methods of circadian period analysis: Fourier analysis, autocorrelation, Enright's (chi-square) periodogram, linear regression of onsets, interonset averaging, and acrophase counting. All methods except acrophase counting accurately detected the period of rhythms with pure waveform (cosine and square wave), whereas Fourier analysis and Enright's periodogram were superior to the other methods in the analysis of more complex waveforms (which more closely resemble actual circadian rhythms). The sensitivity of all methods was reduced by the insertion of random noise into the original data sets, but the methods of autocorrelation and Enright's periodogram were more tolerant of low signal-to-noise ratios than the remaining methods. Although particular situations may require particular methods, the results suggest that Enright's periodogram is the best choice as a general method for the determination of the period of circadian rhythms.
傅里叶分析、自相关分析、恩赖特（卡方）周期图、发作起始点的线性回归、发作间期平均法和峰相位计数法。除峰相位计数法外，所有方法均能准确检测出具有纯波形（余弦波和方波）节律的周期，而在分析更复杂波形（更接近实际昼夜节律）时，傅里叶分析和恩赖特周期图优于其他方法。通过向原始数据集中插入随机噪声，所有方法的灵敏度均有所降低，但自相关分析和恩赖特周期图方法比其他方法更能耐受低信噪比。尽管特定情况可能需要特定方法，但结果表明，恩赖特周期图作为确定昼夜节律周期的通用方法是最佳选择。
