Light at night negatively affects mood in diurnal primate-like tree shrews via a visual pathway related to the perihabenular nucleus
Abstract
To better understand the potential health threats and underlying visual pathways of long-term light at night (LAN) exposure, we adopted a widely accepted diurnal animal model tree shrew ( Tupaia belangeri chinensis ), which is a close relative to primates, and evaluated the deleterious effects of long-term LAN exposure. We used an early-night LAN paradigm that was established in mice to examine behavioral and physiological consequences in adult male tree shrews. We found that 3-wk LAN exposure significantly impaired the mood and long-term memory of tree shrews without affecting the general activity pattern. We identified retinal projections to the perihabenular nucleus (pHb), a crucial area in LAN-induced negative mood, and demonstrated that the pHb continues to innervate the nucleus accumbens (NAc) in tree shrews. Moreover, the pHb was required for the LAN effect on mood but not long-term memory. Transcriptomic profiling of brain tissues containing the NAc area revealed drastic changes of several depression-related genes in NAc neurons post-LAN treatment, suggesting that long-term exposure to nighttime light could result in lasting changes in tree shrews. Collectively, we present behavioral and neural structural evidence that LAN exerts depression-inducing effects in diurnal animals via a pHb-related visual pathway, which may facilitate the translation from laboratory findings of excessive LAN exposure to clinical applications in humans.
Article Details
Journal Info
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
National Academy of Sciences
Authors (14)
Ying Miao
Hefei National Research Center for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, Chinese Academy of Sciences Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease, Biomedical Sciences and Health Laboratory of Anhui Province, School of Life Sciences, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China
Huan Zhao
Yu-Fei Li
Hefei National Research Center for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, Chinese Academy of Sciences Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease, Biomedical Sciences and Health Laboratory of Anhui Province, School of Life Sciences, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China
Yan-Ping Sun
Hefei National Research Center for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, Chinese Academy of Sciences Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease, Biomedical Sciences and Health Laboratory of Anhui Province, School of Life Sciences, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China
Rui Bi
Key Laboratory of Genetic Evolution and Animal Models of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms of Yunnan Province, and Kunming Institute of Zoology and Chinese University of Hong Kong Joint Laboratory of Bioresources and Molecular Research in Common Diseases, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Hongli Li
Key Laboratory of Genetic Evolution and Animal Models of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms of Yunnan Province, and Kunming Institute of Zoology and Chinese University of Hong Kong Joint Laboratory of Bioresources and Molecular Research in Common Diseases, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Xin Fang
Zi-Shuo Li
Hefei National Research Center for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, Chinese Academy of Sciences Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease, Biomedical Sciences and Health Laboratory of Anhui Province, School of Life Sciences, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China
Yu-Hua Ma
National Research Facility for Phenotypic and Genetic Analysis of Model Animals (Primate Facility), National Resource Center for Non-Human Primates, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Long-Bao Lv
Key Laboratory of Genetic Evolution and Animal Models of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms of Yunnan Province, and Kunming Institute of Zoology and Chinese University of Hong Kong Joint Laboratory of Bioresources and Molecular Research in Common Diseases, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Kai An
Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Jian-Jun Meng
Hefei National Research Center for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, Chinese Academy of Sciences Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease, Biomedical Sciences and Health Laboratory of Anhui Province, School of Life Sciences, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China
Yong-Gang Yao
Key Laboratory of Genetic Evolution and Animal Models of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms of Yunnan Province, and Kunming Institute of Zoology and Chinese University of Hong Kong Joint Laboratory of Bioresources and Molecular Research in Common Diseases, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Tian Xue
Hefei National Research Center for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, Chinese Academy of Sciences Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease, Biomedical Sciences and Health Laboratory of Anhui Province, School of Life Sciences, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China