24-HOUR LIGHTING DISRUPTED BABY MICE’S BIOLOGICAL CLOCK

Study Abstract:
“Worldwide, eighteen million, or 14%, of newborns estimated to be of low birth weight, are exposed to artificial lighting environments in hospital nurseries annually.

Here, we have tested whether constant light (LL) exposure disrupts the developing biological clock of mice, using a circadian reporter transgenic mouse model in which the organization of the central biological clock can be assayed by real-time gene expression imaging.

We now find that LL has both acute and long-term disruptive effects on developing biological clocks and that cyclic lighting conditions are critical for developing circadian clocks to coordinate their molecular circadian mechanisms.

This suggests that, from the perspective of developing circadian organization in humans, cyclic light conditions in NICUs are likely to be most appropriate for infants.”

Link to Study: Pediatric Research
Link to Media Interview: IrishHealth.com