The Antidepressant Effect of Light Therapy from Retinal Projections
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12264_2018_210_ReferencePDF.pdf
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Author(s)
Li, Xiaotao
Li, Xiang
Date Issued
February 12, 2018
Publisher
Springer Singapore
Version
Author's final manuscript
Abstract
Abstract
Observations from clinical trials have frequently demonstrated that light therapy can be an effective therapy for seasonal and non-seasonal major depression. Despite the fact that light therapy is known to have several advantages over antidepressant drugs like a low cost, minimal side-effects, and fast onset of therapeutic effect, the mechanism underlying light therapy remains unclear. So far, it is known that light therapy modulates mood states and cognitive functions, involving circadian and non-circadian pathways from retinas into brain. In this review, we discuss the therapeutic effect of light on major depression and its relationship to direct retinal projections in the brain. We finally emphasize the function of the retino-raphe projection in modulating serotonin activity, which probably underlies the antidepressant effect of light therapy for depression.
MIT Department
McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences
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Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12264-018-0210-1
