title: Pupillary responses to short-wavelength light are preserved in aging.
abstract: With aging, less blue light reaches the retina due to gradual yellowing of the lens. This could result in reduced activation of blue light-sensitive melanopsin-containing retinal ganglion cells, which mediate non-visual light responses (e.g., the pupillary light reflex, melatonin suppression, and circadian resetting). Herein, we tested the hypothesis that older individuals show greater impairment of pupillary responses to blue light relative to red light. Dose-response curves for pupillary constriction to 469-nm blue light and 631-nm red light were compared between young normal adults aged 21-30 years (n = 60) and older adults aged ≥50 years (normal, n = 54; mild cataract, n = 107; severe cataract, n = 18). Irrespective of wavelength, pupillary responses were reduced in older individuals and further attenuated by severe, but not mild, cataract. The reduction in pupillary responses was comparable in response to blue light and red light, suggesting that lens yellowing did not selectively reduce melanopsin-dependent light responses. Compensatory mechanisms likely occur in aging that ensure relative constancy of pupillary responses to blue light despite changes in lens transmission.
authors.affiliation: Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Duke-NUS Medical School, 169857, Singapore.|Program in Neuroscience and Behavioral Disorders, Duke-NUS Medical School, 169857, Singapore.
authors.forename: A V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Rukmini
authors.affiliation: Program in Neuroscience and Behavioral Disorders, Duke-NUS Medical School, 169857, Singapore.|Singapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore National Eye Center, 168751, Singapore.
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Milea
authors.affiliation: Singapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore National Eye Center, 168751, Singapore.|Department of Ophthalmology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, 119228, Singapore.
authors.forename: Tin
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Aung
authors.affiliation: Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Duke-NUS Medical School, 169857, Singapore.|Program in Neuroscience and Behavioral Disorders, Duke-NUS Medical School, 169857, Singapore.|Department of Physiology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, 117597, Singapore.
authors.forename: Joshua J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Gooley
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D002940:Circadian Rhythm / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007908:Lens, Crystalline / Q000502:physiology; D008027:Light; D008297:Male; D008550:Melatonin / Q000378:metabolism; D008875:Middle Aged; D011680:Pupil / Q000502:physiology*; D012025:Reflex, Pupillary / Q000502:physiology / Q000528:radiation effects*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D008550:Melatonin