Lightening the mood: evidence for blue light exposure in the treatment of post-concussion depression.
Open accessAbstract
Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), or concussion, is an exceptionally common injury during sports activities, but can also occur from falls, moving vehicle accidents, physical violence, or even ex...
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Blue light has shown a more significant improvement in depressive symptoms compared to white light.
“in this regard, blue light has shown a more significant improvement in depressive symptoms compared to white light.”
From Effectiveness of visible light for seasonal affective disorder: A systematic review and network meta-analysis (2025) · cites this paper as [14]
Cites
Light Therapy for Seasonal and Nonseasonal Depression: Efficacy, Protocol, Safety, and Side Effects
Terman, M., & Terman, J. S. (2005) · CNS Spectrums · doi:10.1017/s1092852900019611 · Cited by 546 · cited 2× · see citing works
“The glare from light can be aversive to some individuals and has been associated with headaches or eye strain [20], an important consideration for people recovering from an mTBI.”
BackgroundStephenson, K. M., Schroder, C. M., Bertschy, G., & Bourgin, P. (2012) · Sleep Medicine Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.smrv.2011.09.002 · Cited by 140 · see citing works
Light therapy in non-seasonal depression: An update meta-analysis
Tao, L., Jiang, R., Zhang, K., Qian, Z., Chen, P., Lv, Y., & Yao, Y. (2020) · Psychiatry Research · doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2020.113247 · Cited by 129 · see citing works
Sankar, A., Melin, A., Lorenzetti, V., Horton, P., Costafreda, S. G., & Fu, C. H. Y. (2018) · Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging · doi:10.1016/j.pscychresns.2018.07.002 · Cited by 114 · see citing works
Bright light as a personalized precision treatment of mood disorders
Maruani, J., & Geoffroy, P. A. (2019) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00085 · Cited by 112 · see citing works
The Effect of Antidepressants on Depression After Traumatic Brain Injury: A Meta-analysis
Kreitzer, N., Ancona, R., McCullumsmith, C., Kurowski, B. G., Foreman, B., Ngwenya, L. B., & Adeoye, O. (2019) · Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation · doi:10.1097/htr.0000000000000439 · Cited by 56 · see citing works
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Alkozei, A., Dailey, N. S., Bajaj, S., Vanuk, J. R., Raikes, A. C., & Killgore, W. D. S. (2021) · Frontiers in Neurology · doi:10.3389/fneur.2021.625443 · Cited by 30 · see citing works
“A sunny day often seems to enhance positive outlook and helping behavior (1, 2), and it is well-established that bright light can be an effective treatment for mood disorders, with effects as potent as some pharmacologic treatments (3, 4).”
BackgroundSelf-citationRaikes, A. C., Dailey, N. S., Forbeck, B., Alkozei, A., & Killgore, W. D. S. (2021) · Frontiers in Neurology · doi:10.3389/fneur.2021.625431 · Cited by 27 · see citing works
Self-citationBajaj, S., Raikes, A. C., Razi, A., Miller, M. A., & Killgore, W. D. S. (2021) · Journal of Central Nervous System Disease · doi:10.1177/11795735211015076 · Cited by 23 · see citing works
Self-citationWan, Y., Ding, J., Fan, M., & Huang, H. (2025) · Medicine · doi:10.1097/md.0000000000043107 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
“…(ipRGCs) are more sensitive to blue light wavelengths, the melatonin-suppressing effect of blue light at lower intensities is even stronger than that of brighter white light, [14] in this regard, blue light has shown a more significant improvement in depressive symptoms compared to white light.”
Effects of blue light during and after exposure on auditory working memory
Kim, K., Yokosawa, K., Okada, K., Onishi, H., Tan, Y., & Lee, S. (2025) · Journal of PHYSIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY · doi:10.1186/s40101-025-00395-6 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Blue light from screen and depression – A review
Blazhkova, A., Czaja, M., Rehan, D., Rzym, K., Sitka, H., Solisch, S., Susłow, A., & Szczęsna, E. (2025) · Polish Journal of Public Health · doi:10.12923/2083-4829/2025-0010 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
- Authors
- Killgore, W. D. S.
- Affiliations
- University of Arizona (US)
- Corresponding author
- Killgore, William D. S.
- Venue
- Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2020-08-30
- Volume
- 20
- Issue
- 11
- Pages
- 1081-1083
- ISSN
- 1473-7175 (ISSN-L)
- 1744-8360
- OpenAlex
- W3081739982
- Cited by
- 6
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2025: 3 · 2021: 3
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- USAMRAA (W81XWH-11-1-0056; W81WXH-14-1-0571; W81XWH-14-1-0570)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Traumatic Brain Injury Research
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Neurology › Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Studies
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pharmacology › Treatment of Major Depression
- Keywords
- blue light exposure, mild traumatic brain injury, concussion, phototherapy, mood improvement
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