PHYSIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF LIGHT WITH SPATIAL STRUCTURE CONVERTING BY FULLERENE

Abstract

Background. The appearance of a new material containing fullerene and capable of changing the properties of light passing through it at the nanoscale caused interest in determining its physiological action. Experimental studies included assessment of pain and non-pain behavioral reactions of animals (formalin test). Electroencephalography was used to determine the characteristics of the response of the brain's default systems and human sensor-motor functions. The state of the higher nervous activity reflected the dynamics of indicators of mental performance during visual loads of varying complexity. We used polarized light (Bioptron device with a fullerene filter) and diffused light (Tesla HyperLight Eyewear glasses). It has been experimentally shown that light converted by fullerene causes significant physiological changes detected in the antinociceptive sphere, the central nervous system (CNS) and higher nervous activity (HNA). It was revealed a significant weakening of the pain response (analgesic effect) and an increase in the duration of sleep (sedative effect) with the application of «carbon» light on the locus of pain or on the acupuncture point. The many-month stay of animals under natural light passed through the fullerene filter revealed a slowdown in the development of some signs of aging (according to the dynamics of body weight, motor activity) in the absence of negative behavioral changes.

Materials and methods. Results. The EEG-activity mosaic testified to the development of a more contemplative attitude to the introspective emotional experiences of past events with their active involvement in the figurative modeling of a hypothetical future. It has been established that in natural conditions the light transformed by fullerene facilitates the performance of the visual-motor task in the black-and-white digital sorting test by 16.5 %. This was equivalent to reducing the age of the CNS structures that participated in the processing of digital information by 14.3 %. The quality of work related to switching attention was improved: according to the color digital test, the execution time was shortened to 105.6 s versus 118.0 s in the control, the average time for switching attention from one character to another was — 1.85 s, against 2.03 s, and errors were made 2.7 times less. With prolonged correctional load, fullerene light contributed to the increase of the information processing rate in the visual analyzer, it increased attentiveness and weakened fatigue. The concentration ratio at the end of the performance of a long proof test in fullerene glasses decreased less (by 16.2 %) than in intact (23.6 %) or placebo (28.5 %) conditions. The latent period of the reaction to the appearance of the symbol was lower, and its deviation was less when compared with comparison groups. Switching attention with a load of 2000 characters has always been faster: 0.537 ± 0.05 s (fullerene), 0.572 ± 0.06 s (intact) and 0.544 ± 0.07 s (placebo). Similar dynamics existed for the latent period of the reaction, its physiological duration, and the time taken to complete the attention-shifting test. The quality of performance of intense mental load increased: the number of errors was 39.97 points, whereas, in intact conditions — 49.83, and placebo — 46.11 points.

Conclusions. Modeling the standard situation in which the driver of a vehicle gets under extreme illumination, according to the dynamics of sensorimotor reactions and their correlation against the background of the EEG of the human brain, revealed an increase in the rate of inter-hemispheric information processes and an increase in the quality and effectiveness of decisions made.