Medical Chronobiology Program, Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
Division of Sleep Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
J Sleep Res. 2021 Apr;30(2):e13043. doi: 10.1111/jsr.13043. Epub 2020 Apr 14.
Procedural learning declines with age and appropriately timed light exposure can improve cognitive performance in older individuals. Because cataract reduces light transmission and is associated with cognitive decline in older adults, we explored whether lens replacement (intraocular blue-blocking [BB] or UV-only blocking) in older patients with cataracts enhances the beneficial effects of light on procedural learning. Healthy older participants (n = 16) and older patients with post-cataract surgery (n = 13 with BB or UV lens replacement) underwent a randomized within-subject crossover laboratory design with three protocols. In each protocol, 3.5 hr dim-dark adaptation was followed by 2 hr evening blue-enriched (6,500K) or non-blue-enriched light exposure (3,000K or 2,500K), 30 min dim post-light, ~8 hr sleep and 2 hr morning dim light. Procedural learning was assessed by the alternating serial reaction time task (ASRT), as part of a larger test battery. Here, ASRT performance was indexed by type of trial (random or sequence) and sequence-specific (high or low probability) measures. During evening light exposure, we observed a significant effect of the interaction of "group" versus "light condition" on the type of trial (p = .04; p = .16; unadjusted and adjusted p-values, respectively) and sequence-specific learning (p = .04; p = .16; unadjusted and adjusted p-values, respectively), whereby patients with UV lens replacement performed better than patients with BB lens or non-cataract controls, during blue-enriched light exposure. Lens replacement in patients with cataracts may potentially be associated with beneficial effects of blue light on procedural learning. Thus, optimizing spectral lens transmission in patients with cataracts may help improve specific aspects of cognitive function, such as procedural learning.
程序性学习随年龄增长而下降，适当的光照可以改善老年人的认知表现。由于白内障会降低光的传输，并且与老年人认知能力下降有关，因此我们探讨了白内障老年患者晶状体置换（眼内蓝阻隔[BB]或仅 UV 阻隔）是否会增强光对程序性学习的有益影响。健康的老年参与者（n=16）和白内障手术后的老年患者（n=13 例接受 BB 或 UV 镜片置换）接受了一项随机、自身交叉实验室设计的研究，共有三种方案。在每种方案中，先进行 3.5 小时暗光适应，然后进行 2 小时晚间富含蓝光（6,500K）或非蓝光（3,000K 或 2,500K）光照暴露，光照后 30 分钟暗光，约 8 小时睡眠，2 小时早晨暗光。程序性学习通过交替序列反应时间任务（ASRT）进行评估，这是更大测试包的一部分。在这里，ASRT 表现通过试验类型（随机或序列）和序列特异性（高或低概率）测量进行评估。在晚间光照暴露期间，我们观察到“组”与“光照条件”之间的相互作用对试验类型（p=0.04;p=0.16;未调整和调整后的 p 值，分别）和序列特异性学习（p=0.04;p=0.16;未调整和调整后的 p 值，分别）有显著影响，其中接受 UV 镜片置换的患者在富含蓝光的光照下的表现优于接受 BB 镜片或非白内障对照组的患者。白内障患者的晶状体置换可能与蓝光对程序性学习的有益影响有关。因此，优化白内障患者的光谱镜片传输可能有助于改善认知功能的特定方面，如程序性学习。
