Seasonal Variation in Daylight Influences Brain Function

Seasons have an impact on our emotions and social life. Negative emotions are more subdued in the summer, whereas seasonal affective disorder rates peak during the darker winter months. Opioids regulate both mood and sociability in the brain.

In the study conducted at the Turku PET Centre, Finland, researchers compared how the length of daylight hours affected the opioid receptors in humans and rats.

The results were published in The Journal of Neuroscience.

Release date: 23 February 2021
Source: University of Turku