human race need light for a variety of reason . Beyond allowing us to comprehend our environment with sight , visible radiation also activates action in the brain . A recent study has accidentally record that even individual who are completely unsighted are determine by the presence of light . The front or absence seizure of lightcontrols many somatic role , include heart charge per unit , attentiveness , mood , and reflexes . Thestudywill be published in an upcoming variation of Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience . The work is a collaboration between a inquiry team at the University of Montreal and the Brigham and Women ’s Hospital in Boston .
The experiment was performed by exposing masses who are completely unsighted to a blue light . The visible light was turn on and off and the player were asked whether the illumination was on or off . The participants were shown to have a non - conscious response to the light , despite not being able to see it . There were more positive identification made than could be explained by chance alone , though the awareness was non - witting . This light perception come from ganglion cell in the retina , which are different from the rod and strobilus cell that process light for sight .
Next , researcher tested if regard was pretend by the mien of twinkle . For this activity , participants had to match sounds with lights on or off . Even though the participants could not visualize the twinkle , they render an increase heed when light was shining into their oculus .
Finally , the test participant completed a brain scan with running MRI ( fMRI ) to evaluate wakefulness , storage , and cognition identification while execute task of matching sounds . Across the instrument panel , the task were complete more efficiently when light was present .
Because of these result , the researcher are speculating that light perception is part of thedefault mode meshwork . This is the name for the brain activity that occurs non - consciously in the background , while other tasks take priority . They speculate that the ability to perceive light even without actively converting it into images is done to continually compensate attention to and monitor the environs . If this is right , it might avail explain why cognitive performance is improve in the presence of light .
