Joel Soler on How Light Affects Memory

This week on The Sci-Files, Daniel and Chelsie interview Joel Soler, MA. Joel is a Ph.D. Candidate in the Department of Psychology-Behavioral Neuroscience at Michigan State University.

Environmental lighting conditions influence cognitive function in both healthy populations and patients with dementia. However, the underlying neural mechanisms are not well understood.

The goal of his research is to examine how chronic daytime light conditions impact a brain region, the hippocampus, which is crucial for learning and memory. His experiments have tested the hypothesis that light modulates the hippocampus function using a combination of approaches. The results shed insight into the neural pathways modulating the hippocampus functions in a diurnal brain. This implies prevention and slowing down of aging-associated cognitive decline.

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