Cited by 172Circadian rhythm and melatoninImpact of Light on Environment and HealthSleep and Work-Related Fatigue

Influence of the modern light environment on mood

Bedrosian, T A, Nelson, R J·2013·Molecular Psychiatry

Abstract

Humans and other organisms have adapted to a consistent and predictable 24-h solar cycle, but over the past ~130 years the widespread adoption of electric light has transformed our environment. Instead of aligning behavioral and physiological processes to the natural solar cycle, individuals respond to artificial light cycles created by social and work schedules. Urban light pollution, night shift work, transmeridian travel, televisions and computers have dramatically altered the timing of light used to entrain biological rhythms. In humans and other mammals, light is detected by the retina and intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells project this information both to the circadian system and limbic brain regions. Therefore, it is possible that exposure to light at night, which has become pervasive, may disrupt both circadian timing and mood. Notably, the rate of major depression has increased in recent decades, in parallel with increasing exposure to light at night. Strong evidence already links circadian disruption to major depression and other mood disorders. Emerging evidence from the past few years suggests that exposure to light at night also negatively influences mood. In this review, we discuss evidence from recent human and rodent studies supporting the novel hypothesis that nighttime exposure to light disrupts circadian organization and contributes to depressed mood.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1038/mp.2013.70

Cites

76 of 76 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Recomputing p-values needs the paper’s full text.

Claims the paper makes

This paper’s full text isn’t openly available, so its claims and self-check weren’t run. The registry and citation checks still apply.

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • It is reasonable to expect that widespread disruption of circadian rhythms would contribute to the prevalence of mood disorders.

    “Thus, it is reasonable to expect that widespread disruption of circadian rhythms would contribute to the prevalence of mood disorders9,32,33.”

    From Circadian rhythm disruption and mental health (2020) · cites this paper as [33]

  • Studies using Swiss Webster mice, which have no detectable pineal melatonin, versus Siberian hamsters, which have a robust pineal melatonin rhythm, have reported similar effects of light at night on affective responses.

    “Nonetheless, studies using Swiss Webster mice (which have no detectable pineal melatonin) vs. Siberian hamsters (which have a robust pineal melatonin rhythm) have reported similar effects of light at night on affective responses33,59–61.”

    From Circadian rhythm disruption and mental health (2020) · cites this paper as [33]

  • Chronic shift-workers are vulnerable to various diseases, including psychiatric disorders such as depression.

    “For example, chronic shift-workers (workers with rotating schedules or consistent night shifts) are vulnerable to various diseases13,14, including psychiatric disorders such as depression15–19.”

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Bedrosian, T. A., & Nelson, R. J.
Affiliations
The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center (US)
Corresponding author
Bedrosian, T A
Venue
Molecular Psychiatry
Published
2013-05-28
Volume
18
Issue
7
Pages
751-757
ISSN
  • 1359-4184 (ISSN-L)
  • 1476-5578
OpenAlex
W1998785537
Cited by
172
References
76
Citations by year
2026: 12 · 2025: 17 · 2024: 15 · 2023: 18 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 14 · 2020: 20 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 9 · 2017: 13 · 2016: 14 · 2015: 16 · 2014: 3
FWCI
1.31
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Molecular Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Endocrine and Autonomic Systems › Circadian rhythm and melatonin
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Impact of Light on Environment and Health
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Sleep and Work-Related Fatigue
Keywords
light at night, circadian rhythm disruption, mood, major depressive disorder, light pollution, night shift work, transmeridian travel, artificial light exposure, intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells, circadian entrainment, limbic system, rodent models
MeSH terms
Animals, Circadian Rhythm, Humans, Lighting, Photoperiod, Mood Disorders

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review