RESUMO
Light plays an essential role in psychobiological and psychophysiological processes, such as alertness. The alerting effect is influenced by light characteristics and the timing of interventions. This meta-analysis is the first to systematically review the effect of light intervention on alertness and to discuss the optimal protocol for light intervention. In this meta-analysis, registered at PROSPERO (Registration ID: CRD42020181485), we conducted a systematic search of the Web of Science, PubMed, and PsycINFO databases for studies published in English prior to August 2021. The outcomes included both subjective and objective alertness. Subgroup analyses considered a variety of factors, such as wavelength, correlated color temperature (CCT), light illuminance, and timing of interventions (daytime, night-time, or all day). Twenty-seven crossover studies and two parallel-group studies were included in this meta-analysis, with a total of 1210 healthy participants (636 (52%) male, mean age 25.62 years). The results revealed that light intervention had a positive effect on both subjective alertness (standardized mean difference (SMD) = -0.28, 95% confidence interval (CI): -0.49 to -0.06, P = 0.01) and objective alertness in healthy subjects (SMD = -0.34, 95% CI: -0.68 to -0.01, P = 0.04). The subgroup analysis revealed that cold light was better than warm light in improving subjective alertness (SMD = -0.37, 95% CI: -0.65 to -0.10, P = 0.007, I2 = 26%) and objective alertness (SMD = -0.36, 95% CI: -0.66 to -0.07, P = 0.02, I2 = 0). Both daytime (SMD = -0.22, 95% CI: -0.37 to -0.07, P = 0.005, I2 = 74%) and night-time (SMD = -0.32, 95% CI: -0.61 to -0.02, P = 0.04, I2 = 0) light exposure improved subjective alertness. The results of this meta-analysis and systematic review indicate that light exposure is associated with significant improvement in subjective and objective alertness. In addition, light exposure with a higher CCT was more effective in improving alertness than light exposure with a lower CCT. Our results also suggest that both daytime and night-time light exposure can improve subjective alertness.
RESUMO
Light is a powerful modulator of non-visual functions. Although accumulating evidence suggests an antinociceptive effect of bright light treatment, the precise circuits that mediate the effects of light on nocifensive behaviors remain unclear. Here, we show that bright light treatment suppresses mouse nocifensive behaviors through a visual circuit related to the lateral and ventral lateral parts of the periaqueductal gray area (l/vlPAG). Specifically, a subset of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) innervates GABAergic neurons in the ventral lateral geniculate nucleus and intergeniculate leaflet (vLGN/IGL), which in turn inhibit GABAergic neurons in the l/vlPAG. The activation of vLGN/IGL-projecting RGCs, activation of l/vlPAG-projecting vLGN/IGL neurons, or inhibition of postsynaptic l/vlPAG neurons is sufficient to suppress nocifensive behaviors. Importantly, we demonstrate that the antinociceptive effects of bright light treatment are dependent on the activation of the retina-vLGN/IGL-l/vlPAG pathway. Together, our results delineate an l/vlPAG-related visual circuit underlying the antinociceptive effects of bright light treatment.