Science Questions

Do blind people suffer from depression because of light deprivation? Rollin Kent, Mexico

We put this question to Professor Russell Foster:

I think it’s such an interesting idea because we’ve published a paper last year on an individual who has no rods and cones but can still regulate their body clock using these new receptors to the light-dark cycle.  It’s only with the discovery of these cells that we can ask question like that.  The assumption then, has been – well, you’re depressed because you can’t see.  We’re starting some studies to look at depression in individuals who have those cells but don’t have the capacity to see.

July 2008