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Light therapy (bright or dim light) was given at different times (morning or evening)
to 27 unmedicated patients with nonseasonal depression (according to DSM-III-R criteria)
and 16 normal volunteers. Circadian rhythms in body temperature were measured before
and after light therapy. Bright light significantly improved clinical symptoms of
depression, as measured by the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD), independent
of the time of phototherapy. Dim light therapy had no effect on HRSD scores. Circadian
rhythms of body temperatures in patients with affective disorder were more sensitive
to the entraining effects of bright light than those of normal subjects, but these
effects were not related to clinical improvement. Bright light exposure has an antidepressant
effect on patients with nonseasonal depression, but the effect is unlikely to be mediated
via the same circadian system that regulates body temperature.
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Article info
Publication history
Received in revised form:
June 24,
1994
Received:
January 31,
1994
Footnotes
This research was supported by a Research Grant (3A-6) for Nervous and Mental Disorders from the Japanese Ministry of Health and Welfare. M.T.M.-I. was supported by an Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research Scholarship.
Identification
Copyright
© 1995 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc.
