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Human Brain Is Sensitive To Light In Ears
vuo writes "Finnish researchers have shown that the human brain contains photoreceptors that react to intracranial illumination. Light is provided through the ear canal with bright-light headsets by Valkee. These devices, much like earphones or should we say 'earlumes,' are registered medical devices. Retinal illumination or bright-light therapy has been previously assumed to be the only way light indirectly affects brains. Light therapy helps with mood swings, seasonal affective disorder, jetlag and other circadian rhythm disruptions."
When they shined a light in my ear :-)
The source article is posted on "PR Newswire".
This is a self published document by the company that creates and promotes the Valkee product.
I am in no position to comment on the legitimacy of the product or the efficacy of it's claims, and neither is anyone else here given the complete uselessness of the article presented.
At least link to the "scientific" article that they have on their website, which is more appropriate for this audience:
http://www.valkee.com/uk/Valkee_Poster_Presentation-Human_Brain_Photosensitiveness_May2011.pdf
I cannot tell if the above whitepaper is peer reviewed or what.
Antidepressant sales in the pacific northwest are going to go down!
Oh glorious, glorious slashvertisements.
And the worms ate into his brain.
Great way to grab some bucks. Right, Tim?
OK, someone please tell me why I would need to spend nearly $300 USD to shine 2 white LEDs in my ear? Awaiting a schematic and a parts list of what is needed to build this. Oh 3 AA's wired to pair of in-ear headphones with the coil and diaphragm replaced by an LED on each side.
Now someone tell me that this really works, that shining light i my ear is going to change my mood and outlook on life. Why on earth would the inside of our ears ever develop light sensitivity? I am smelling snake oil burning on the wick while the guy in the dirty traveling salesman suit stands on a crate in front of his horse.
I'm really stupid and have nothing to say so I posted a comment here too
An 1998 article in Science claimed there were photoreceptors there and helped alleviate jet lag. I dont know if scientists have followed this up. But its become urban legend now.
Curious what this means for people who can't see...?
is it sensitive to a reverse cranial insertion therapy?
... then headphones are making us all crazy! Hmm, actually...
I guess I can sit down again.
So a bright light is expected to travel down the ear canal - cross the several membranes between the ear and the brain and have a measurable effect on your brain (even assuming that the photoreceptors ARE there). I'm buying it just as much as the Browser IQ article from earlier.
I want to see some peer review first
I have mod points and I am not afraid to use them
Think of the awkward clinical trials...
I'm quite certain you can't see the brain by looking in through the ear canal.
Are you? If you press your palm against a strong flashlight, I bet you can see some illumination on the skin in the back of your hand as human tissue isn't that effective in blocking the light... If shining light to your brain really has some positive effect, it seems really plausible that powerful light deep in your ear might work!
That said, I've seen these products before (I live in Finland) and remember thinking "Yeah. Right. Seems as scientific as ab tronic".
FTS:
These devices, much like earphones or should we say 'earlumes,' are registered medical devices.
WTF? Where, in Singapore?
Oh, I see, it has CE certification as a 'medical device' for sale in Europe. Well, nice to see the US isn't the only country lowering the bar for snake oil salesmen everywhere...(yes, those magnetic bracelet-thingies are registered under MHRA as 'medical devices')
frig.
"I love animals! Some are cute, others are tasty, what's not to like?" - Betsy Schroeder, Jeopardy contestant
"You Light Up My Ears"
Of course:
Q: how do you make a light shine in a blonde's eyes?
A: you point a flash light at her ear.
no really do you see that often is this stupid post day or some shit?
Come on baby light my fire
So what's to stop me from sticking a couple of AAA-size maglites in my ears for a while and calling it good?
Are YOU using the TOOL, or is the TOOL using YOU? Think about it!
... when its host has a hole in its head that needs patching up.
You mean along the same line as garbage like Light Relief?
Surely they mean heat. That I will believe. Slashdot is sliding into the abyss a little further every day. Well it's not just slashdot - ever since they brought internet access to the trailer parks, there's been a change. And the law of averages and the law of large numbers means that the future does not look bright for us nerds.
Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
After seeing this I was really excited and ready to order. But that's because I have the worst possible form of SAD. Even in the SF bay area I am miserable for a couple months or so of the rainy season. I'd pay way more than $300 to avoid the energy drain.
As a sufferer I can tell you that it's not just the self-funded and published nature that is suspicious. It's also the timing. I get really antsy as winter starts to get close. There's plenty of summer weather left here but there's less time in say, Finland. I also noticed that Valkee launched its product in August last year.
Sadly, there's no cure for SAD. It's something you have to learn to manage and live with. Essentially all research into it was stopped once it was discovered that light therapy works for most people and drugs don't. So it's unlikely that anyone will prove or disprove the study here. It's also unlikely that we will see anything less biased either. Maybe it helps, maybe it doesn't.
I know shining light in your ear sounds really stupid but if you are sick and miserable you will try anything to get better. I don't know about the ear but I do find normal light therapy to be insufficient. That reminds me to get out and take a nice walk in the sunshine!
No, we should not say "earlumes". Please, no.
A republic cannot succeed till it contains a certain body of men imbued with the principles of justice and honour.
Lets do some crappy science : ask a new-born if he understands you (mind you, no cerebral activity measuring, only 'perception')
Conclusion : Small Humans cannot hear.
Same thing happened with the so-called Cell-phone radiation effect : ask people if they perceive anything, DO NOT EVER test their cortisol blood levels (they may tell you something)
Conclusion : apart from some Random Person (we'll average them out of the trials next time, promiss Mr Big Wallet Telco), there is no such thing as Electro-Magnetic sensibility.
I have a simple question for your bio-chemistry bias : whenever one meditates (that's delta waves electrical brain activity, for you), one is gradually made aware of his thought patterns. Kindly pinpoint the chemical activity involved.
--
You have no clue how it works, should it be grounds for its disappearance ?
The brain needs the light, keep your hair shorter to prevent shadows!
Physicians and biologists have known for a long tine that the pineal gland (epiphysis), which is a remnant of the "third eye" still present in some reptiles, contains active photoreceptors and regulates hormonal circadian rhythms by detecting light that is filtered through the back of the eye.
Perhaps the sun should shine up there.
Have gnu, will travel.
Using the reciprocity principle I am now convinced I can hear with my eyes.
Sorry, but gray text on gray background is making my eyes bleed.
Well, light might go into yours
That his orifice captures light?
Like a... black hole?
Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens
This reminds me of the ganglion photoreceptors in the eyes (not rods or cones) they have a lower wavelength absorption peak of ~480nm (blueish) and they are very few compared to the other receptors. They contribute to vision slightly, but their primary role is suspected to be other things like helping to regulate circadian rhythms (i.e. body clock).
There was an interesting BBC Horizon programme recently that touched on this subject, "Do You See What I See?", which was primarily exploring colour perception in general. One specific part (where they talk about ganglion cells), they show a bar who's "Light Designer" used blue light of timed intensity to make people more lively in the evening... this is thought to be because that wavelength of light activates the ganglion cells and alters the mood and alertness of people.
I suppose this could do the same if there were the same or similar types of cells in the ears or brain, but honestly... you could probably achieve more stimulating effects by closely staring at a 20 pence 470nm LED
I just heard what you said there.
And the optic-hearing apparently works long distance as well. What a glorious day for science this is.
Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens
I've noticed for years now that if I shine the light of an optical mouse in my ear, even with my eyes closed, even with someone else doing it with my eyes closed, I hear a high-frequency ring only at the times the light is shining in my ears.
But I don't know if this is because of the effect described in TFA or something to do with the engineering of optical mice.
when I could see music flowing out of the speakers.
âoeIn theory, theory and practice are the same. In practice, they are not." â Albert Einstein
You aren't going to get useful amounts of light to the brain through the ears! Worse, what light you do get will be all dim and orange/reddish, and throw your circadian rhythms for a loop because you think it is sunset all the time. Worthless.
Here, just for my Slashdot friends, is the secret to really showing 'Seasonal Affective Disorder' who is boss:
Simply passing electrons through the cerebrospinal and intracellular fluids of the brain at a speed greater than that of light within those media will bathe the brain in a lovely, broad-spectrum, delicate blue glow. This will stimulate photo-receptors that aural lighting cannot hope to reach.
Unfortunately, due to high costs and a coverup by the alarm-clock/industrial complex, you may have to sneak into a nearby university or DOE laboratory in order to use a linear accelerator of sufficient power. While Cherenkov radiation can also restore vigor to the scalp and reverse balding, you need energy sufficient to pass through the skull in order to see circadian benefits.
You can build your own version of this for a few dollars, if not cents. It's not worth hundreds.
This scam appeared in Finland over a year ago. :) Metku.net even made a DIY version of it.
You can reset your bodily clock by shining light on the melatonin-generating cells in the pineal gland. This has been well-known to actual REAL biologists for many years.
I don't know how effective shining light down the ears in an attempt to stimulate the pineal might be and have my doubts.
So I think this is overall a combination of snake-oil marketing plus yesterday's news.
Think of the odd new appliances if enough people end up convinced it's true!
The back of your knees are photosensitive. The currently top presumed reason for this is that it will reset your diurnal clock and wake you up in the morning even if you have your back to the cave mouth.
People have been claiming this for quite a while. In fact, many Stop Smoking clinics shine lasers in people's ears which triggers something which removes the urge to smoke. Or so I hear, I have no clue whether or not this technique actually works.
~Syberz
ref: http://www.audiorelief.co.uk/ ... there is a tinnitus test using 11Hz to 11000Hz to find the hiss in your ear. Some around where I have been complain that the infra sound type of power lines, etc. cause their ears to hissssss. Have a good day.
Most recent TinniTool 2007
clinical survey results
The survey was conducted in Piacenza Italy where 46 adult patients affected by tinnitus
were separated in two groups. One group was treated with low-level laser stimulation
among other techniques. The other group was treated as the placebo group. Treatment lasted for 3 months and after
this patients filled out a questionnaire. Final results stated that 61% of Tinnitool
patients improved their tinnitus while the percentage was only 35% in the placebo
group.tinnitus, as well as other ailments, such as an induced psychosis caused from an external source or even an attack
Here is a device used to treat other ailments as well. exampled by stopping an induced psychosis from an external source. (electronic harassment)
Check out the reference link
Honestly, this stuff works.
My girlfriend clearly gets depressed during the winter months of darkness (we're up in the nordics of europe, so winter is long and dark here). I got her a Valkee - first half as a joke. Neither of us really thought it could work, but it clearly does - for her at least. She was in the 'summer mood' all winter with these.
The way I know it's working: a few times she felt really grumpy last winter. Both times it turned out that she had not used the device for a few days. Note that she noticed forgetting *after* being grumpy and in bad mood for a day.
Oh, and for the record: I do not get winter depression myself. Trying the device, it gave me a vague headache, and a slight feeling of drinking too much coffee..
I remember reading not too long ago about using infrared light to stimulate the hair cells or nerves in the ear.. it was thought that using an infrared laser could work better than the current electrode method of a Cochlear Implant.
Assuming-- big assumption here-- the brain does benefit from illumination. 1) do they know how much through-the-skull illumination brains already get in bright sunlight? I'm sure the number is not zero. 2) How much light is "too much of a good thing". Don't want to blind our brains, now-- we could all end up as zombies or Republicans, the former being much easier to eradicate, due to ethical considerations.
I listen to sounds of nature on my headphones at work. I use a program called Ambiance (Adobe Air app) that lets me mix various field recordings, which keeps me more alert than coffee, and drowns out the blabbering of my cubicle neighbors. It also helps my mood, as it usually sounds like a Spring afternoon.
This has me thinking -- can I add some sort of lights source into my headphones? They're full ear-covering headphones, so I could produce a lot of light in them without affecting those around me, or much of it leaking out.
Does anyone know of a decent small, battery-powered light source I could do some testing with?
It has already been shown that areas other than the eyeballs respond to visible light below the obvious intensity of feeling heat (that is, not talking about bright sunlight). This may be a new specific point, but the general idea is not surprising. As for SAD and light therapy, I believe this is one of the things that - like allergies and food sensitivities - is very idiosyncratic and hard to standardize. But then, so is taste.
I can only imagine that the same folk who believe that having crystals inserted in their anus is in some way efficatious will gladly pay more to have them illuminated!