Mechanism Underlying the Effects of Blue Light in Humans

描述(申请人提供)：长期以来，光被认为对人类的一系列生物功能有刺激作用，包括增加激活的感觉，如提高警觉性或执行能力。光如何刺激这些神经生物系统的潜在机制仍有待阐明。尽管存在大量关于白光的不同特性如何激活神经系统的文献，如重置昼夜起搏器或抑制促进睡眠的激素褪黑素，但只有少数研究描述了白光和彩色光对唤醒机制的直接影响，而且他们的发现是模棱两可的。 我们建议调查不同颜色的光对人类生理学的影响，特别是测试特定颜色的光优先刺激神经生物学、生理和内分泌系统的说法。利用经典的光生物学技术，我们将构建不同颜色的光对人类一系列非成像反应的影响的作用光谱。我们将检验以下假设： 1)光诱导的神经生物睡眠-觉醒调节系统的激活，表现为警觉性增强，反应时间加快，抑制脑电α活动，微睡眠和缓慢的眼球运动，以及松果体褪黑素的抑制，与其他颜色的可见光的同等光子相比，光诱导的睡眠-觉醒调节系统对视网膜暴露在短波长蓝光(460 Nm)下最敏感；2)光诱导自主神经和下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺轴的激活测量觉醒，如心率变异性、核心体温、血压、呼吸频率、血浆皮质醇水平和尿儿茶酚胺的增加，与其他颜色的同等光子相比，对短波长蓝光(460 Nm)的暴露最敏感；3)人体昼夜节律起搏器的相移，通过温度、褪黑素和皮质醇节律的变化来评估，与同等其他颜色的光子相比，对短波长蓝光(460 Nm)的暴露最敏感。由此产生的作用光谱将有助于识别光激活唤醒和昼夜节律重置的光感受器机制(S)，这些非成像生理反应并使我们能够区分可能介导这种反应的主要候选光感受器机制，包括潜在的新型光感受器系统。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Light has long been proposed to have a stimulatory effect on a range of biological functions in humans, including increased feelings of activation, such as improved alertness or ability to perform. The mechanisms underlying how light stimulates these neurobiological systems remain to be elucidated. Although a sizeable literature exists on how different properties of white light activate neurological systems, such as resetting the circadian pacemaker or inhibiting the sleep-promoting hormone melatonin, only a few studies exist describing direct effects of white and colored light on arousal mechanisms, and their findings are ambiguous. We propose to investigate the effects of different colors of light on human physiology, and in particular test the claims that specific colors of light preferentially stimulate neurobiological, physiological and endocrinological systems. Using classical photobiological techniques, we will construct action spectra for the effects of different colors of light on a range of non-image forming responses in humans. We will test the hypotheses that: 1) light-induced activation of the neurobiological sleep-wake regulatory system, as indicated by increased alertness, faster reaction time, suppression of EEG alpha activity, microsleeps and slow rolling eye movements, and suppression of pineal melatonin, is most sensitive to retinal exposure to short-wavelength blue light (460 nm) compared to equal photons of other colors of visible light; 2) light-induced activation of autonomic and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis measures of arousal, as indicated by increased heart rate variability, core body temperature, blood pressure, respiration rate, plasma cortisol levels and urinary catecholamines, is most sensitive to exposure to short wavelength blue light (460 nm) compared to equal photons of other colors; 3) phase shifts of the human circadian pacemaker, as assessed by changes in temperature, melatonin and cortisol rhythms, are most sensitive to exposure to short-wavelength blue light (460 nm) compared to equal photons of other colors. The resultant action spectra will help to identify the photoreceptor mechanism(s) by which light activates arousal and circadian resetting, these non-image forming physiological responses and enable us to distinguish between major candidate photoreceptive mechanisms, including potential novel photoreceptor systems, that might mediate such responses.