Afraid of the dark: Light acutely suppresses activity in the human amygdala

Light improves mood. The amygdala plays a critical role in regulating emotion, including fear-related responses. In rodents the amygdala receives direct light input from the retina, and light may play a role in fear-related learning. A direct effect of light on the amygdala represents a plausible me...

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Veröffentlicht in:PloS one 2021-06, Vol.16 (6), p.e0252350-e0252350
Hauptverfasser: McGlashan, Elise M, Poudel, Govinda R, Jamadar, Sharna D, Phillips, Andrew J. K, Cain, Sean W
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Sprache:eng
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Zusammenfassung:Light improves mood. The amygdala plays a critical role in regulating emotion, including fear-related responses. In rodents the amygdala receives direct light input from the retina, and light may play a role in fear-related learning. A direct effect of light on the amygdala represents a plausible mechanism of action for light's mood-elevating effects in humans. However, the effect of light on activity in the amygdala in humans is not well understood. We examined the effect of passive dim-to-moderate white light exposure on activation of the amygdala in healthy young adults using the BOLD fMRI response (3T Siemens scanner; n = 23). Participants were exposed to alternating 30s blocks of light (10 lux or 100 lux) and dark (
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0252350