24 | 2025 GIGA Annual Report REGIONAL RESPONSE TO LIGHT ILLUMINANCE ACROSS THE HUMAN HYPOTHALAMUS Campbell I, Sharifpour R, Balda Aizpurua JF, Beckers E, Paparella I, Berger A, Koshmanova E, Mortazavi N, Read J, Zubkov M, Talwar P, Collette F, Sherif S, Phillips C, Lamalle L, Vandewalle G. Exposure to bright light can enhance wakefulness and cognitive performance by influencing hypothalamic activity, according to a study led by Gilles Vandewalle at the Sleep Laboratory. Using 7 Tesla MRI, researchers examined how different light intensities affected the hypothalamus while 26 healthy adults performed auditory cognitive tasks. They found that higher illuminance increased activity in the posterior hypothalamus but decreased activity in anterior and inferior regions. Notably, improved performance on an executive task correlated with reduced posterior hypothalamic activity, suggesting that other brain regions contribute to light-induced cognitive benefits. These findings deepen our understanding of how light modulates brain function and could inform therapeutic lighting strategies to enhance alertness and cognitive function. Elife. 2024 Oct 28;13:RP96576. doi: 10.7554/eLife.96576. p LINKS | News GIGA | Publication on ORBI | Gilles Vandewalle
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