Light Affects Mood and Learning through Distinct Retina-Brain Pathways

Diego Carlos Fernandez, P. Michelle Fogerson, Lorenzo Lazzerini Ospri, Michael B. Thomsen, Robert M. Layne, Daniel Severin, Jesse Zhan, Joshua H. Singer, Alfredo Kirkwood, Haiqing Zhao, David M. Berson, Samer Hattar

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

108 Scopus citations

Abstract

Light exerts a range of powerful biological effects beyond image vision, including mood and learning regulation. While the source of photic information affecting mood and cognitive functions is well established, viz. intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs), the central mediators are unknown. Here, we reveal that the direct effects of light on learning and mood utilize distinct ipRGC output streams. ipRGCs that project to the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) mediate the effects of light on learning, independently of the SCN's pacemaker function. Mood regulation by light, on the other hand, requires an SCN-independent pathway linking ipRGCs to a previously unrecognized thalamic region, termed perihabenular nucleus (PHb). The PHb is integrated in a distinctive circuitry with mood-regulating centers and is both necessary and sufficient for driving the effects of light on affective behavior. Together, these results provide new insights into the neural basis required for light to influence mood and learning. The effects of light on learning and mood via intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells involve a pacemaker-independent role for the suprachiasmatic nucleus as well as distinct circuitry in a region of the thalamus called the perihabenular nucleus.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)71-84.e18
JournalCell
Volume175
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 20 2018

Keywords

  • aberrant light cycle
  • circadian rhythms
  • ipRGCs
  • learning
  • mood
  • perihabenular nucleus
  • suprachiasmatic nucleus
  • ventromedial prefrontal cortex

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

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