ArticlePLoS biology2023
Bright light treatment counteracts stress-induced sleep alterations in mice, via a visual circuit related to the rostromedial tegmental nucleus.
Article in PLoS biology, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Non-pharmacological therapies for sleep and occupational stress regulation among nightshift nurses: a systematic review and Bayesian network meta-analysis based on randomized controlled trials.Frontiers in public health · 2026Pooled it
- Light Therapy Alleviates Addiction-Related Symptoms and Reshapes Habenula and Midbrain Pathways.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Trial
- Bright light therapy in Parkinson's disease: a pilot study on visual pathway improvements.BMC psychiatry · 2025Trial
- Bright light exposure suppresses feeding and weight gain via a visual circuit linked to the lateral hypothalamus.Nature neuroscience · 2026Article
- Lateral habenula-rostromedial tegmental nucleus circuit mediates inflammatory pain in mice.The journal of headache and pain · 2025Article
- Burst firing in Output-Defined Parallel Habenula Circuit Underlies the Antidepressant Effects of Bright Light Treatment.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2024Article
- Elevated dorsal medial prefrontal cortex to lateral habenula pathway activity mediates chronic stress-induced depressive and anxiety-like behaviors.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2024Article
- A Common Neuronal Ensemble in the Lateral Habenula Regulates Ciprofol Anesthesia in Mice.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
12 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Light in the environment greatly impacts a variety of brain functions, including sleep. Clinical evidence suggests that bright light treatment has a beneficial effect on stress-related diseases. Although stress can alter sleep patterns, the effect of bright light treatment on stress-induced sleep alterations and the underlying mechanism are poorly understood. Here, we show that bright light treatment reduces the increase in nonrapid eye movement (NREM) sleep induced by chronic stress through a di-synaptic visual circuit consisting of the thalamic ventral lateral geniculate nucleus and intergeniculate leaflet (vLGN/IGL), lateral habenula (LHb), and rostromedial tegmental nucleus (RMTg). Specifically, chronic stress causes a marked increase in NREM sleep duration and a complementary decrease in wakefulness time in mice. Specific activation of RMTg-projecting LHb neurons or activation of RMTg neurons receiving direct LHb inputs mimics the effects of chronic stress on sleep patterns, while inhibition of RMTg-projecting LHb neurons or RMTg neurons receiving direct LHb inputs reduces the NREM sleep-promoting effects of chronic stress. Importantly, we demonstrate that bright light treatment reduces the NREM sleep-promoting effects of chronic stress through the vLGN/IGL-LHb-RMTg pathway. Together, our results provide a circuit mechanism underlying the effects of bright light treatment on sleep alterations induced by chronic stress.
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