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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2022 Jul 1.
Published in final edited form as: J Pain. 2021 Feb 23;22(7):763–777. doi: 10.1016/j.jpain.2021.02.005

Table 1.

Summary of studies on the effects and mechanisms of light on pain.

Color Study Subjects Route Exposure Intensity/ Irradiance Pain Condition Δ Pain Mechanism of Action
White 390–740nm Kowacs et al. 200151 Human Visual 2 sec 50–20,000 lux Migraine ↑ ↓ trigeminal + cervical pain thresholds
Dolgonos et al. 201121 Rat Visual 9 min 9.1 × 103 μW/cm2 - ↑ Intraretinal trigeminal sensitization
Leichtfried et al. 201459 Human Visual 6 hr 5000 lux Chronic nonspecific back pain ↓ -
Martenson et al. 201666 Rat Visual 30 sec 18,000 lux Fibromyalgia ↑ Visual system → OPN → RVM
Noseda et al. 201676 Human Visual 3 min 1–100 cd/m2 Migraine ↑ Retino-thalamo-cortical pathway
Burgess et al. 201710 Human Visual 1 hr 3000+ lux Fibromyalgia ↓ Dim light melatonin onset shift
Nir et al. 201875 Human Visual 3 min 1–100 cd/m2 Migraine ↑ Retino-thalamo-cortical pathway
Burgess et al. 201911 Human Visual 1 hr 3000+ lux Chronic LBP ↓ Dim light melatonin onset shift
Burns et al. 202012 Human Visual 1 hr 3000+ lux Chronic LBP ↓ -
Bumgarner et al. 20209 Mouse Visual 10 hr 5 lux - ↑ ↑ IL-6, NGF; ↑ PAG MOR
Blue 450–500nm Noseda et al. 201676 Human Visual 3 min 1–100 cd/m2 Migraine ↑ Retino-thalamo-cortical pathway
Nir et al. 201875 Human Visual 3 min 1–100 cd/m2 Migraine ↑ Retino-thalamo-cortical pathway
Khanna et al. 201947 Rat Visual 8 hr 4–5 lux Functional pain syndromes ↓ Visual system → RVM
Green 500–565nm Noseda et al. 201676 Human Visual 3 min 1–100 cd/m2 Migraine ↓ -
Ibrahim et al. 201743 Rat Visual 8 hr 4 lux Chronic pain ↓ ↑ RVM descending pain inhibition;
↓ CaV2.2 response; ↑ PENK; Naloxone reversal
Khanna et al. 201947 Rat Visual 8 hr 4 lux Chronic pain ↓ Visual system → RVM
Martin et al. 202068 Human Visual 1–2 hr 4–100 lux Migraine ↓ -
Martin et al. 202067 Human Visual 1–2 hr 4–100 lux Fibromyalgia ↓ -
Amber 590nm Noseda et al. 201676 Human Visual 3 min 1–100 cd/m2 Migraine ↑ Retino-thalamo-cortical pathway
Nir et al. 201875 Human Visual 3 min 1–100 cd/m2 Migraine ↑ Retino-thalamo-cortical pathway
Red 625–740nm Stelian et al. 199296 Human Skin 15 min 8 mW/cm2 Knee osteoarthritis ↓ -
Hsieh et al. 201241 Rat Skin 60 sec 150 mW/cm2 Neuropathic pain ↓ ↓ TNF-α, IL1-β, HIF-1α
Noseda et al. 201676 Human Visual 3 min 1–100 cd/m2 Migraine ↑ Retino-thalamo-cortical pathway
Nir et al. 201875 Human Visual 3 min 1–100 cd/m2 Migraine ↑ Retino-thalamo-cortical pathway
Langella et al. 201856 Human Skin 300 sec 16.66 mW/cm2 Post-total hip arthroplasty ↓ ↓ serum IL-8, TNF-α, IL-6
Khanna et al. 201947 Rat Visual 8 hr 50 lux Functional pain syndromes ↑ Visual system → RVM
Pigatto et al. 202088 Mouse Skin 60 sec 84.64 mW/cm2 - ↓ ↓ TRPA1, TRPV1, TRPM8, and ASIC receptor nociception
Herpich et al. 202038 Human Skin 300 sec 5 mW/cm2 TMD ↓ -
Rodrigues et al. 202090 Rat Skin 20 sec 316 mW/cm2 CRPS-I ↓ -
Near-Infrared (750–1000nm) Stelian et al. 199296 Human Skin 15 min 11 mW/cm2 Knee osteoarthritis ↓ -
Cidral-Filho et al. 201315 Mouse Skin 32 sec 80 mW/cm2 Neuropathic pain ↓ ↓ spinal cord + sciatic nerve TNF-α
Cidral-Filho et al. 201416 Mouse Skin 153 sec 80 mW/cm2 Postoperative incisional pain ↓ ↑ activation peripheral opioid receptors
Martins et al. 201670 Mouse Skin 50 sec 80 mW/cm2 Inflammatory pain ↓ ↑ IL-10; ↑ catalase; ↑ superoxide dismutase; ↓ TBARS
Holanda et al. 201739 Rat Skin 120 sec 300 mW/cm2 Neuropathic pain ↓ ↓ signal via cytoskeletal disruption
Kobiela Ketz et al. 201749 Rat Skin 19 sec 43.25 mW/cm2 Neuropathic pain ↓ ↑ M2 macrophage activation
Pigatto et al. 201787 Mouse Skin 20 min 17.3 mW/cm2 - ↓ ↓ PKA, PKC activation
de Sousa et al. 201820 Mouse Skin 120 sec 50 mW/cm2 Chronic peripheral pain ↓ ↓ DRG mGLuR1; ↑ PAP
Langella et al. 201856 Human Skin 300 sec 9.66 mW/cm2 Post-total hip arthroplasty ↓ ↓ serum IL-8, TNF-α, IL-6
Yadav et al. 2018103 Rat Skin 10 min 0.4 mW/cm2 Burn wound ↓ ↓ TNF-α, NFκB, IL1-β, COX-2, substance-P receptor
Balbinot et al. 20195 Rat Skin 40 sec 1.43 mW/cm2 Knee osteoarthritis ↓ ↓ spinal cord astrogliosis
Pigatto et al. 201989 Mouse Skin 20 min 17.4 mW/cm2 CRPS-I, Neuropathic pain ↓ -
Rodrigues et al. 202090 Rat Skin 40 sec 316 mW/cm2 CRPS-I ↓ -
Herpich et al. 202038 Human Skin 300 sec 5 mW/cm2 TMD ↓ -

Abbreviations: ASIC, acid-sensing ion channels; CaV2.2, N-type voltage-gated calcium channel; COX-2, cyclooxygenase-2; CRPS-I, complex regional pain syndrome-1; DRG, dorsal root ganglion; HIF-1α, hypoxia-inducible factor-1α; IL-1β, interleukin 1β; IL-6, interleukin 6; IL-8, interleukin 8; IL-10, interleukin 10; LBP, low back pain; mGLuR1, metabotropic glutamate receptor type 1; MOR, μ-opioid receptor; NFκB, nuclear factor kappa B; NGF, nerve growth factor; OPN, olivary pretectal nucleus; PAG, periaqueductal gray; PAP, prostatic acid phosphatase; PENK, proenkephalin-A; PKA, protein kinase A; PKC, protein kinase C; RVM, rostral ventromedial medulla; TBARS, thiobarbituric acid reactive species; TMD, temporomandibular disorder; TNF-α, tumor necrosis factor α; TRPA1, Transient Receptor Potential Ankyrin 1; TRPM8, Transient Receptor Potential Melastatin 8; TRPV1, Transient Receptor Potential Vanilloid 1.