Differences in the Pupillary Responses to Evening Light between Children and Adolescents

PURPOSE: To assess differences in the pupillary light responses (PLRs) to blue and red evening lights between children and adolescents. METHODS: Forty healthy participants (8–9 years, n=21; 15–16 years, n=19) completed a PLR assessment 1 h before their habitual bedtime. After a 1 h dim-light adaptation period (<1 lux), baseline pupil diameter was measured in darkness for 30 s, followed by a 10 s exposure to 3.0×10(13) photons/cm(2)/s of either red (627 nm) or blue (459 nm) light, and a 40 s recovery in darkness to assess pupillary re-dilation. Subsequently, participants underwent 7 min of dim-light re-adaptation followed by an exposure to the other light condition. Lights were counterbalanced across participants. RESULTS: Across both age groups, maximum pupil constriction was significantly greater (p< 0.001, η(p)(2)=0.48) and more sustained (p< 0.001, η(p)(2)=0.41) during exposure to blue compared to red light. For adolescents, the post-illumination pupillary response (PIPR), a hallmark of melanopsin function, was larger after blue compared with red light (p= 0.02, d=0.60). This difference was not observed in children. Across light exposures, children had larger phasic (p< 0.01, η(p)(2)=0.20) and maximal (p< 0.01, η(p)(2)=0.22) pupil constrictions compared to adolescents. CONCLUSIONS: Blue light elicited a greater and more sustained pupillary response than red light across participants. However, the overall amplitude of the rod/cone-driven phasic response was greater in children than in adolescents. Our findings using the PLR highlight a higher sensitivity to evening light in children compared to adolescents, and continued maturation of the human non-visual photoreception/system throughout development.