Many studies have explored the effects of light on the circadian rhythms of plants and animals, including humans. But few have looked at the direct effects of light on sleep. Researchers at the California Institute of Technology set out to determine how and why light directly impacts sleep. Scientists wanted to know why darkness is soporific, and why brightness can disrupt deep sleep. Testing in Caltech labs revealed a light-sensitive neural protein key in maintaining the proper balance between wakefulness and sleep. "Researchers had previously identified the photoreceptors in the eye that are required for the direct effect of light on wakefulness and sleep," researcher David Prober, a professor of biology at Caltech, said in a news release . "But we wanted to know how the brain uses this visual information to affect sleep." In the lab, researchers tagged the brain protein prokineticin 2, or Prok2, with bioluminescent markers in zebrafish models. Zebr...
Comments