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Photoreception for Human Circadian and Neurobehavioral Regulation

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Handbook of Advanced Lighting Technology

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Abstract

Two convergent developments are transforming architectural lighting: (1) the advance of solid state lighting technologies and (2) the confirmation that light regulates human circadian, neuroendocrine, and neurobehavioral physiology, thereby influencing health and well-being. Analytic action spectra studies have shown peak sensitivity in the short-wavelength portion of the visible spectrum from 447 to 484 nm for the biological and behavioral effects of light in humans and other mammalian species. These studies led to the discovery of intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs) that contain a photopigment named melanopsin. The ipRGCs interconnect with the classical visual rod and cone photoreceptors. Together, all retinal photoreceptors provide input to the retinohypothalamic tract (RHT). The RHT transmits information about environmental light to the central circadian pacemaker as well as many other nonvisual centers in the nervous system. This chapter reviews the fundamental neurophysiology, the clinical and nonclinical therapeutic uses of light, as well as selected examples of published data on the effects of solid state light on human biology and behavior. Both the basic and applied science related to these discoveries are in a nascent stage. As new lighting technologies and applications are developed with the intent to improve human health and well-being, empirical evidence is critically needed to ensure the safety and efficacy of these advances. Collaboration between scientists and engineers across the fields of physics, biomedicine, lighting, and architecture will guide the best use of light for the benefit of humanity.

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Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the dedicated support of Samar Jasser M.D. for the editorial review and of Benjamin Warfield for formatting all figures and the creative development of Fig. 3. Figure 3 and portions of this manuscript were adapted and updated from an earlier publication (Brainard and Hanifin 2014) with permission from the Commission Internationale de l’Eclairage (CIE). Figures. 2, 4, and 5 were reprinted with permission from Elsevier publications (Lucas et al. 2014; Glickman et al. 2006; Brainard et al. 2013, respectively). Figure 6 was originally published in a book chapter of Brainard et al. 1994, Advances in Pineal Research: 8, M Møller and P Pévet, eds, pp 415–432, John Libbey & Company Ltd., London and later in Brainard et al. 1997 cited here. The publishers have given permission for it to be reprinted here. The work was supported, in part, by grants from the Smart Lighting ERC under NSF EEC-0812056; NSBRI under NASA Cooperative Agreement NCC 9–58; NIH RO1NS36590; NIMH1R43, Apollo Health, Philips Healthcare, The Institute for Integrative Health, and the Philadelphia Section of the Illuminating Engineering Society.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurology, Thomas Jefferson University, Suite 507, 1025 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA, 19107, USA

    George C. Brainard & John P. Hanifin

Authors
  1. George C. Brainard
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  2. John P. Hanifin
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to George C. Brainard .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Smart Lighting Engineering Center, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York, USA

    Robert Karlicek

  2. Department of Optics and Photonics, National Central University, Jhongli, Taiwan

    Ching-Cherng Sun

  3. Toulouse University, Toulouse, France

    Georges Zissis

  4. OLED Lighting, Universal Display Corporation, Ewing, USA

    Ruiqing Ma

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© 2017 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

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Brainard, G.C., Hanifin, J.P. (2017). Photoreception for Human Circadian and Neurobehavioral Regulation. In: Karlicek, R., Sun, CC., Zissis, G., Ma, R. (eds) Handbook of Advanced Lighting Technology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-00176-0_47

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