Most people are aware that light affects human behaviour and can be used to treat disorders such as Seasonal Affective Disorder, but now researchers from the University of Surrey and the University of Liege have found new evidence that light administered during the night immediately reduces sleepiness and boosts human brain function. These significant findings are published in today’s issue of Current Biology.The brain processes light information to visually represent the environment but it also detects changes in ambient light level. The latter information induces non-image forming responses mediated by neural systems partially distinct from the visual system.
