Midnight darkness and evening melatonin pre-treatment reverse night-light-induced neurobehavioural disruptions in a diurnal corvid.

ABSTRACT: Artificial light at night (ALAN) is a growing environmental pollutant with significant risks to brain health in both animals and humans. This study assessed the ALAN-induced negative impact and examined potential mitigative strategies on neurobehavioural traits and associated neural pathways in diurnal Indian house crows subjected to dim light at night (dLAN, 6 lx) in a 12-hour:12-hour light-dark cycle. The 12-hour dLAN period was either interrupted midway by a 2-hour dark period (controls in 0 lx dark night; experiment 1) or preceded by a 50 µg day⁻¹ crow⁻¹ melatonin pre-treatment 30 min before the dLAN onset (controls received vehicle; experiment 2). dLAN exposure reduced nocturnal melatonin levels, and negatively impacted the circadian behaviour, sleep, mood and cognitive performance as

SUBMITTER: Buniyaadi A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12749663 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature