Australian_Science_Illustrated_Issue_52_2017

Mood changes

your vision

Right behind the eyes, a light meter helps your

body distinguish between night and day.

Your day becomes more

grey, if you are in a bad

mood. According to a study

by the University of

Rochester, New York, people

in a bad mood find it more

difficult to decode blue and

yellow colours than people

in a neutral or good mood.

Other studies have found a

connection between our

conception of those colours

and the dopamine

neurotransmitter. So,

scientists hope that the new

results can provide us with a

better understanding of the

brain’s dopamine signals.

Your biological clock is really a bundle of brain cells

known as the suprachiasmatic core. The brain region

keeps track of night and day via nerve links to the

retina of the eye, which measure the quantity of

light around you. Based on the light intensity, the

suprachiasmatic core reduces or increases

the quantity of hormones such as

melatonin and cortisol, which affect

how tired you feel and how much

energy your body is converting.

The biological clock can be

confused, if you are affected by

bright computer or smartphone

light right before bedtime.

According to studies, the light

from the devices suppress the

melatonin sleep hormone, changes

the circadian rhythm, and makes us

less attentive the next morning – not

to mention it causes insomnia!

During an ordinary day, your body must carry out lots of

sophisticated coordination such as getting out of bed,

putting on clothes in the correct manner, or

driving your bike to work. So, the

kinaesthetic sense is always at work.

The proprioception keeps track of

where all your body parts are in

proportion to one another. The

sense is located in sensitive nerve

fibres, which are wrapped around

muscle fibres in your arms, legs,

and other limbs. The nerve

fibres register, if a muscle

contracts or is stretched,

sending a message to the

brain, which calculates

where in physical space

the muscles are located.

Light sensor

keeps you awake

Nerve fi bres give away

your arm motions

Sundial controls

body hormones

The brain's light centre, the suprachiasmatic

core, controls the melatonin sleep hormone

and the body’s metabolism hormone, cortisol.

SUPRACHIASMATIC CORE

PINEAL BODY

SIGNALS TO THE BODY

MELATONIN

LIGHT

Light from a phone

or tablet could

interrupt your

circadian rhythm.

Your colour vision

changes, when you are

in a bad mood, according

to new research.

GETTY IMAGES & CLAUS LUNAU

SHUTTERSTOCK

SHUTTERSTOCK

3 TIME SENSE

NEWS FLASH!

4 KINAESTHETIC SENSE

The kinaestetic sense allows

you to touch your nose with

your eyes closed.

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