Isolated astasia caused by a localized infarction in the suprathalamic white matter.

A 73-year-old woman with essential hypertension and diabetes mellitus abruptly developed astasia. There were no other neurological abnormalities. Cranial diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated a localized infarction in the right-sided suprathalamic white matter.

Exposure to blue light during lunch break: effects on autonomic arousal and behavioral alertness.

Background: Exposures to melanopsin-stimulating (melanopic) component-rich blue light enhance arousal level. We examined their effects in office workers. Eight healthy university office workers were exposed to blue and orange lights for 30 min during lunch break on different days.

Enhancement of autonomic and psychomotor arousal by exposures to blue wavelength light: importance of both absolute and relative contents of melanopic component.

Background: Blue light containing rich melanopsin-stimulating (melanopic) component has been reported to enhance arousal level, but it is unclear whether the determinant of the effects is the absolute or relative content of melanopic component. We compared the autonomic and psychomotor arousal effects of melanopic-enriched blue light of organic light-emitting diode (OLED) with those of OLED lights with lesser absolute amount of melanopic component (green light) and with greater absolute but lesser relative content (white light).

Methods: Using a ceiling light consisting of 120 panels (55 × 55 mm square) of OLED modules with adjustable color and brightness, we examined the effects of blue, green, and white lights (melanopic photon flux densities, 0.

Suppression of vagal cardiac modulation by blue light in healthy subjects.

Background: In the contemporary life environments, our body is increasingly exposed to various sources of colored light, which may affect our physiological functions as non-image-forming effects. We examined the impacts of colored lights on the autonomic functions by the analysis of heart rate variability (HRV).

Methods: A lighting device consisting of four organic light-emitting diode (OLED) modules (55 × 55 mm) with adjustable red-green-blue color was secured 24 cm above the eyes of subject lying supine in a light-shielded laboratory.