The superior colliculus-pretectum mediates the direct effects of light on sleep

Light and dark have immediate effects on sleep and wakefulness in mammals, but the neural mechanisms underlying these effects are poorly understood. Lesions of the visual cortex or the superior colliculus-pretectal area were performed in albino rats to determine retinorecipient areas that mediate the effects of light on behavior, including rapid eye movement sleep triggering by lights-off and redistribution of non-rapid eye movement sleep in short light-dark cycles. Acute responses to changes in light conditions were virtually eliminated by superior colliculus-pretectal area lesions but not by visual cortex lesions. Circadian entrainment was evident in both groups with lesions and in normal controls. Thus, acute light-dark effects on sleep and wakefulness appear to be mediated independently from cortical vision or circadian rhythms.