ArticleFrontiers in neuroscience2023
Dim artificial light at night alters immediate early gene expression throughout the avian brain.
Article in Frontiers in neuroscience, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed.
- The ecological importance of natural dark nights for circadian organization, metabolism and reproduction in birds.BMC ecology and evolution · 2026Review
- Midnight darkness and evening melatonin pre-treatment reverse night-light-induced neurobehavioural disruptions in a diurnal corvid.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Effects of air and light pollution on brain and behavioral function: Potential synergy.Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews · 2025Review
- Birds of a feather flock together: social context exacerbates the effects of light pollution on circadian disruption.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2025Article
- Dimly illuminated nights alter behavior and negatively affect fat metabolism in adult male zebra finches.Photochemical & photobiological sciences : Official journal of the European Photochemistry Association and the European Society for Photobiology · 2024Article
- Light at night exposure and risk of dementia conversion from mild cognitive impairment in a Northern Italy population.International journal of health geographics · 2024Article
- Review
- Artificial light and neurodegeneration: does light pollution impact the development of Alzheimer's disease?GeroScience · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Artificial light at night (ALAN) is a pervasive pollutant that alters physiology and behavior. However, the underlying mechanisms triggering these alterations are unknown, as previous work shows that dim levels of ALAN may have a masking effect, bypassing the central clock. Light stimulates neuronal activity in numerous brain regions which could in turn activate downstream effectors regulating physiological response. In the present study, taking advantage of immediate early gene (IEG) expression as a proxy for neuronal activity, we determined the brain regions activated in response to ALAN. We exposed zebra finches to dim ALAN (1.5 lux) and analyzed 24 regions throughout the brain. We found that the overall expression of two different IEGs, cFos and ZENK, in birds exposed to ALAN were significantly different from birds inactive at night. Additionally, we found that ALAN-exposed birds had significantly different IEG expression from birds inactive at night and active during the day in several brain areas associated with vision, movement, learning and memory, pain processing, and hormone regulation. These results give insight into the mechanistic pathways responding to ALAN that underlie downstream, well-documented behavioral and physiological changes.
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Registered trials
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