SHEDDING LIGHT ON NON-VISUAL PHOTORECEPTION
Ignacio Provencio, AML Castrucci, Didem Göz, Daniel M. Warthen · Sleep Science · 2009
*Corresponding author e-mail: [email protected] Melanopsin is the photopigment of intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCS). ipRGCs mediate photic responses such as the entrainment of circadian rhythms, the pupillary light reflex, and the acute suppression of elevated nocturnal melatonin that do not require the formation of visual images. Photoactivation of melanopsin triggers a phosphoinositide signaling pathway similar to the phototransduction cascade observed in the rhabdomeric photoreceptors of invertebrates. Blue light (max ~480 nm) is the optimal stimulus of melanopsin. In recent years blue light has been implicated in a series of responses including effects on heart rate, sleep, and alertness. We have initiated studies to explore the role of melanopsin in previously undescribed effects of light. These studies will be described. Publication History Article published online: 16 June 2026 © 2009. Brazilian Sleep Academy. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/) Thieme Revinter Publicações Ltda. Rua Rego Freitas, 175, loja 1, República, São Paulo, SP, CEP 01220-010, Brazil