Light as a central modulator of circadian rhythms, sleep and affect

By Tara A. LeGates, D. C. Fernandez, S. Hattar. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 2014

897 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Light has profoundly influenced the evolution of life on earth. As widely appreciated, light enables us to generate images of our environment. However, light — through intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs) — also influences behaviours that are essential for our health and quality of life but are independent of image formation. These include the synchronization of the circadian clock to the solar day, tracking of seasonal changes and the regulation of sleep. Irregular light environments lead to problems in circadian rhythms and sleep, which eventually cause mood and learning deficits. Recently, it was found that irregular light can also directly affect mood and learning without producing major disruptions in circadian rhythms and sleep. In this Review, we discuss the indirect and direct influence of light on mood and learning, and provide a model for how light, the circadian clock and sleep interact to influence mood and cognitive functions.

Subfields: Cognitive Neuroscience, Endocrine and Autonomic Systems, Experimental and Cognitive Psychology

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/dd745f0926a1e11cc16da858c8ac4350502fdd5d

Citations in the corpus

• Time spent outdoors during preschool: Links with children's cognitive and behavioral development (2017, neutral): “Light exposure is the principal cue permitting circadian rhythm regulation in animals (Cao et al., 2015) and is associated with attention (Cajochen, 2007), sleep, and emotions (LeGates, Fernandez, & Hattar, 2014).”