Nour Selim 1, Romeo Aiyabei 1, Ivan Soto 1, Gauri Paul 1, and Cynthia T. Hsu 1

Parkinson’s pathology, in which the progressive loss of dopamine neurons contributes to debilitating loss of motor control, is an important and active area of biomedical research. While oxidative stress is known to contribute to neurodegeneration, the potential for environmental influences to exacerbate the condition are not well understood. Blue light is a prevalent environmental factor that is attributed to the habitual use of electronics; as such, exploring its adverse effects on humankind is a necessity. Previous literature has shown that blue light induces oxidative stress in D. melanogaster, which may indicate the risk for increased damage to DA neurons and perpetuate the loss of motor functions. We have found that blue light exposure not only increases oxidative stress but also sleep in a cryptochrome dependent manner. This raises two questions that we are currently investigating: (1) if blue light is sufficient to increase oxidative stress specifically in the dopaminergic neurons, and (2) if dopaminergic neurons increase activity in response to blue light or if they are downregulated to promote sleep and thus recovery from oxidative damage. This will help determine whether the oxidative stress caused by blue light is sufficient to affect dopaminergic neuronal function and thus lead to neurodegenerative ailments.

1 California State University, Fresno, CA, USA