Exposure to light during pregnancy is important for fetal brain development

Exposure to light during pregnancy may be related to fetal brain development

Professor Lena Gunhaga of Umeå University Molecular Medicine Center in Sweden said: "Ultimately, this discovery may provide the possibility of using the correct light stimulation during pregnancy to reduce the risk of neurological disorders in adulthood

Researchers from the Umeå University research team and the team of Professor Richard Lang from Cincinnati in the United States have now demonstrated that in the early stages of fetal development, a photoreceptor opsin called Opsin 3 has been expressed in parts of the central and peripheral nervous system

Early three-dimensional image of mouse fetus, red shows the initial expression of Opsin3, blue is the anatomical background

Although the idea that light may affect cells in the body (even the unborn fetus) may seem strange, previous calculations and experiments have shown that light can activate photoreceptors through the skin, soft tissues, and skull

Opsin3 detects light in the blue range with a wavelength of approximately 480 nanometers

"Although we need to conduct more research to make recommendations on specific light therapy for pregnant women, it is clear that we are on an exciting track, which may prove to be very important in the end," Lena Gunha Add (Lena Gunhaga) said

Although this new discovery is based on observations of the brain and nervous system of mice, this function is believed to be similar to that of humans

"Distinct Opsin 3 ( Opn3 ) Expression in the Developing Nervous System during Mammalian Embryogenesis" by Wayne IL Davies, Soufien Sghari, Brian A.