ausblenden:
Schlagwörter:
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Zusammenfassung:
Illumination of the world around us enables vision and visual
perception. Additionally, light exposure profoundly affects our physiology and
behaviour by entraining the circadian system to the light-dark cycle and
modifying melatonin production. These “non-visual” effects are mediated by a
subset of retinal ganglion cells, the melanopsin-containing intrinsically
photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs). Demonstrating how the different
photoreceptors in the eye – including the cones and rods – contribute to non-
visual light-mediated functions requires specific methods for stimulating
photoreceptors in isolation. Here, I will describe recent work on uncovering the
mechanisms underlying the non-visual effects of light and recent forays into
translating these findings into the real world.