ReviewJournal of physiological anthropology2016
Light-sensitive brain pathways and aging.
Review in Journal of physiological anthropology, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 43 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
43 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Circadian light therapy and light dose for depressed young people: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in public health · 2023Pooled it
- A systematic review of the amount and timing of light in association with objective and subjective sleep outcomes in community-dwelling adults.Sleep health · 2019Pooled it
- Blue enriched light modulates pupil dilation induced by transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation.Scientific reports · 2025Trial
- Trial
- Article
- Intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells and visual processing: ipRGCs beyond non-image-forming functions.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2025Review
- The Impact of Pupil Constriction on the Relationship Between Melanopic EDI and Melatonin Suppression in Young Adult Males.Journal of biological rhythms · 2024Article
- Meditation Experience is Associated with Increased Structural Integrity of the Pineal Gland and greater total Grey Matter maintenance.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2024Article
- The Physiological and Pharmacological Significance of the Circadian Timing of the HPA Axis: A Mathematical Modeling Approach.Journal of pharmaceutical sciences · 2024Review
- Effects of evening smartphone use on sleep and declarative memory consolidation in male adolescents and young adults.Brain communications · 2024Article
- Review on age-related differences in non-visual effects of light: melatonin suppression, circadian phase shift and pupillary light reflex in children to older adults.Journal of physiological anthropology · 2023Review
- Disturbances of Hormonal Circadian Rhythms by Light Pollution.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Review
- Blue Light-Ocular and Systemic Damaging Effects: A Narrative Review.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Review
- Melanopic irradiance defines the impact of evening display light on sleep latency, melatonin and alertness.Communications biology · 2023Article
- Retinorecipient areas in the common marmoset (Frontiers in neural circuits · 2023Review
- Objective Measures of Immediate "Energizing" Effect of Light: Studies Review and Data Analysis.Clocks & sleep · 2022Review
- Diurnal Circadian Lighting Accumulation Model: A Predictor of the Human Circadian Phase Shift Phenotype.Phenomics (Cham, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- The Newborn's Reaction to Light as the Determinant of the Brain's Activation at Human Birth.Frontiers in integrative neuroscience · 2022Article
- Age-Related Unstructured Spike Patterns and Molecular Localization inFrontiers in physiology · 2022Article
- Light entrainment of the SCN circadian clock and implications for personalized alterations of corticosterone rhythms in shift work and jet lag.Scientific reports · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Notwithstanding its effects on the classical visual system allowing image formation, light acts upon several non-image-forming (NIF) functions including body temperature, hormonal secretions, sleep-wake cycle, alertness, and cognitive performance. Studies have shown that NIF functions are maximally sensitive to blue wavelengths (460-480 nm), in comparison to longer light wavelengths. Higher blue light sensitivity has been reported for melatonin suppression, pupillary constriction, vigilance, and performance improvement but also for modulation of cognitive brain functions. Studies investigating acute stimulating effects of light on brain activity during the execution of cognitive tasks have suggested that brain activations progress from subcortical regions involved in alertness, such as the thalamus, the hypothalamus, and the brainstem, before reaching cortical regions associated with the ongoing task. In the course of aging, lower blue light sensitivity of some NIF functions has been reported. Here, we first describe neural pathways underlying effects of light on NIF functions and we discuss eye and cerebral mechanisms associated with aging which may affect NIF light sensitivity. Thereafter, we report results of investigations on pupillary constriction and cognitive brain sensitivity to light in the course of aging. Whereas the impact of light on cognitive brain responses appears to decrease substantially, pupillary constriction seems to remain more intact over the lifespan. Altogether, these results demonstrate that aging research should take into account the diversity of the pathways underlying the effects of light on specific NIF functions which may explain their differences in light sensitivity.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.