Physiological Study of Visual and Non-Visual Effects of Light Exposure
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Measurements of Physiological Responses
2.1. Brain Activity
2.2. Heart Rate Variability
2.3. Electrodermal Activity
3. Experiment on Visual and Non-Visual Effects of Light Exposure
3.1. Methods
- (I)
- Spectrum: According to a previous study [37] that investigated the spectral power of monochromatic blue light and the percentage of change in the suppression of melatonin secretion, the spectrum must have a short-wavelength component of at least 20 μW/cm2 to produce non-visual effects. In contrast, this study employed blue, red, and white (baseline condition) light. The light color spectra had to be difficult to perceive but sufficient to produce the visual effects. Spectra were measured with a C-7000 spectrometer (SECONIC, Tokyo, Japan) (Figure A1);
- (II)
- Illuminance: Illuminance had to be sufficiently high to affect arousal level but low enough not to induce a perceivable change in light color. According to a previous study [36] investigating the relationship between illuminance and arousal level (subjective arousal level using the percentage of suppressed melatonin secretion), the arousal level increased at around 70 lx (illuminance at the cornea) and reached an intermediate arousal level at 90–180 lx. Therefore, we set the illuminance to 90 lx at the corneal position;
- (III)
- Irradiation time period: The irradiation time period was set based on the following: (i) participants’ sleep habits; (ii) under appropriate lighting conditions, non-visual effects during the daytime may affect arousal level, performance, etc.; and (iii) irradiating light with a large short-wavelength component at night may lead to sleep disorders [38]. In this study, the irradiation time period was set as 10:00 to 17:00;
- (IV)
- Irradiation duration: Previous studies [6,16] indicated that non-visual effects could be observed after 12 min of irradiation. Additionally, the effect on arousal level was independent of the length of irradiation time if it was longer than 12 min. Therefore, we set the irradiation duration to 20 min in consideration of fatigue and to ensure a sufficient irradiation time for the onset of the non-visual effects;
- (V)
- Spatial distribution: Previous studies [39,40,41] revealed that non-visual effects depend on the retinal area irradiated by light. In this study, the light source was located behind the participant so that the entire visual field was illuminated through the wall (i.e., the entire retina was uniformly illuminated);
- (VI)
- Lighting environment: We focused on chromatic adaptation and change blindness to create an environment that made it difficult to perceive changes in light color. Chromatic adaptation is a characteristic where the sensitivity to a certain light color decreases as the color continues to be viewed [42]. In contrast, change blindness is a perceptual phenomenon in which an observer does not notice a change in a visual stimulus when they are focused or distracted by another visual stimulus [43]. On the basis of these two characteristics, the light color (spectrum) was changed gradually [44], and the participant undertook a task to distract them from the color change [45].
3.2. Results and Discussion
3.2.1. Light Color Perception
3.2.2. Brain Activity
3.2.3. Heart Rate Variability
3.2.4. Electrodermal Activity
- This study set the red and blue light spectra to confirm the non-visual effects (i.e., the differences in the short-wavelength components of blue and red, especially from 446 nm to 477 nm). Simultaneously, to create an environment in which light color was not easily perceived, the long-wavelength component of red light was suppressed. Therefore, the red light used in this study may have been insufficient to induce visual effects;
- The participants were compared by grouping according to the presence or absence of visual effects based on their perceptual results. However, it is possible that individual differences, such as personal preference [2] for light color and light history (experience) [50], may have affected the comparison results. Therefore, an experimental method that could be used to obtain and compare the physiological response results of both effects for each light color within the same participant was necessary. Additionally, this study did not equalize the male–female ratio, which was the same as the conventional studies [8,9,12] that confirmed non-visual effects using physiological measurements. However, gender differences in color preference have been indicated [51,52,53] and could have affected the results. Aside from gender difference, color preference is affected by differences in personalities [54,55,56] and cultures/experiences [57,58,59,60] and by different times of day/seasons [56,61], etc. Therefore, these factors need to be considered to obtain an accurate analysis result;
- In this experiment, participants were assigned a free task using a PC or a book to prevent sleepiness. It is possible that differences regarding the task content may have affected the physiological response results. Therefore, it is necessary to consider tasks that can be conducted for a long period of time without making all participants feel sleepy.
4. Conclusions
- The brain activation (increase in ΔoxyHb) in some regions of the PFC (p < 0.05) confirmed the non-visual effects of blue light. A comparison of the mean values indicated that blue light activates the prefrontal cortex and increases sweating (increase in SCL), but the differences were not statistically significant;
- Although significant differences were not obtained for the visual effects of blue light, comparisons of the means showed tendencies toward a calming role for the prefrontal cortex and an inhibition of sweating;
- Although no significant differences were obtained for the visual effects of red light, comparisons of the means showed a tendency to enhance sweating.
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
Glossary
BNV | Blue Non-visual |
BV | Blue Visual |
EDA | Electrodermal Activity |
EEG | Electroencephalogram |
fMRI | Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging |
HF | High frequency |
LF | Low frequency |
MEG | Magnetoencephalogram |
NIRS | Near-infrared Spectroscopy |
PC | Personal Computer |
RNV | Red Non-visual |
RRI | R–R Interval |
RV | Red Visual |
SCL | Skin Conductance Level |
SD | Standard Deviation |
ΔoxyHb | Change in Oxygenated Hemoglobin |
Appendix A
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Perception Condition | Participant Number |
---|---|
BV | 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 13, 16, 17, 19, 20, 21 |
BNV | 1, 2, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 18 |
RV | 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 |
RNV | 1, 2, 11, 14, 21 |
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Morioka, H.; Ozawa, H.; Kato, T. Physiological Study of Visual and Non-Visual Effects of Light Exposure. Appl. Sci. 2023, 13, 5785. https://doi.org/10.3390/app13095785
Morioka H, Ozawa H, Kato T. Physiological Study of Visual and Non-Visual Effects of Light Exposure. Applied Sciences. 2023; 13(9):5785. https://doi.org/10.3390/app13095785
Chicago/Turabian StyleMorioka, Haruki, Haruki Ozawa, and Takeo Kato. 2023. "Physiological Study of Visual and Non-Visual Effects of Light Exposure" Applied Sciences 13, no. 9: 5785. https://doi.org/10.3390/app13095785
APA StyleMorioka, H., Ozawa, H., & Kato, T. (2023). Physiological Study of Visual and Non-Visual Effects of Light Exposure. Applied Sciences, 13(9), 5785. https://doi.org/10.3390/app13095785