Definition and research guide
This page combines a MeSH definition, publication statistics and selected research abstracts. It is a starting point for reading the literature, not a medical textbook or a systematic evidence review.
Content available: 4 complete abstracts (664 words), 10 references. Full article text is not stored or reproduced here; follow the PMID, DOI or PMC links to read the original sources and their access terms.
Definition
The illumination of an environment and the arrangement of lights to achieve an effect or optimal visibility. Its application is in domestic or in public settings and in medical and non-medical environments.
Definition: NLM Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) scope note (Public domain (U.S. National Library of Medicine); attribution requested). View the MeSH record.
Also known as: Illumination.
Where it fits in the MeSH classification
- Broader topics
- Environment, Controlled
Research landscape
PubMed indexes 13,798 records tagged with the MeSH heading “Lighting” (counts retrieved 2026-10-31). 1,985 of them (14.4%) were published from 2020 onward, and the busiest period so far is through 1999 with 5,280 records.
Reviews account for 600 records (4.3%) and meta-analyses for 26. Randomized controlled trials number 242 (1.8%) as a share of all records on the topic. Randomized trials make up only a small share of this literature, so much of what is known comes from laboratory, observational or descriptive work.
Show the data
| Period | Records |
|---|---|
| through 1999 | 5,280 |
| 2000-2009 | 2,838 |
| 2010-2019 | 3,695 |
| 2020 onward | 1,985 |
Publication-type chart data
| Type | Records | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Reviews | 600 | 4.3% |
| Meta-analyses | 26 | 0.2% |
| Randomized controlled trials | 242 | 1.8% |
Method: PubMed query "Lighting"[MeSH Terms] with publication-type and date filters, retrieved 2026-10-31.
Reading the evidence in public health and nutrition
Population and nutrition studies mostly observe what people eat, breathe or are exposed to and then look for links with health, which shows association and not proof of cause. Self-reported diet is imprecise, people who eat or live differently also differ in other ways, and effects measured across a population may not apply to one person. Check the study design, how exposure was measured, what else was accounted for and the size of the effect, not only whether it was statistically significant.
Evidence from open-access studies
These open-access studies come from PubMed’s best-match results for this heading (papers whose main topic it is), ranked here by citation count, with one recent addition. Each abstract is reproduced in full under its recorded open licence so that you can read the authors’ own words. They illustrate the literature; they are not a systematic summary of it. Citation counts measure attention, not reliability or clinical benefit.
| Study / authors | Year | Source label / design | Europe PMC citations | Licence / source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Three-dimensional structured illumination microscopy with enhanced axial resolution | 2023 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 74 | cc by PMID 36702897 · DOI · PMC10497409 |
| LITOS: a versatile LED illumination tool for optogenetic stimulation | 2022 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 31 | cc by PMID 35907941 · DOI · PMC9338960 |
| Quantitative structured illumination microscopy via a physical model-based background filtering algorithm reveals actin dynamics | 2023 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 30 | cc by PMID 37248215 · DOI · PMC10227022 |
| Infrared exposure improves human colour vision undermined by LED light | 2026 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 0 | cc by PMID 42789515 · DOI · PMC13614600 |
Three-dimensional structured illumination microscopy with enhanced axial resolution [1]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- The axial resolution of three-dimensional structured illumination microscopy (3D SIM) is limited to ∼300 nm.
- Closing excerpt
- We demonstrate the potential of these advances by imaging a variety of cellular samples, delineating the nanoscale distribution of vimentin and microtubule filaments, observing the relative positions of caveolar coat proteins and lysosomal markers and visualizing cytoskeletal dynamics within T cells in the early stages of immune synapse formation.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (145 words)
The axial resolution of three-dimensional structured illumination microscopy (3D SIM) is limited to ∼300 nm. Here we present two distinct, complementary methods to improve axial resolution in 3D SIM with minimal or no modification to the optical system. We show that placing a mirror directly opposite the sample enables four-beam interference with higher spatial frequency content than 3D SIM illumination, offering near-isotropic imaging with ∼120-nm lateral and 160-nm axial resolution. We also developed a deep learning method achieving ∼120-nm isotropic resolution. This method can be combined with denoising to facilitate volumetric imaging spanning dozens of timepoints. We demonstrate the potential of these advances by imaging a variety of cellular samples, delineating the nanoscale distribution of vimentin and microtubule filaments, observing the relative positions of caveolar coat proteins and lysosomal markers and visualizing cytoskeletal dynamics within T cells in the early stages of immune synapse formation.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 36702897 · DOI · PMC10497409
LITOS: a versatile LED illumination tool for optogenetic stimulation [2]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- Optogenetics has become a key tool to manipulate biological processes with high spatio-temporal resolution.
- Closing excerpt
- LITOS's affordability and ease of use aims at democratizing optogenetics in any laboratory.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (185 words)
Optogenetics has become a key tool to manipulate biological processes with high spatio-temporal resolution. Recently, a number of commercial and open-source multi-well illumination devices have been developed to provide throughput in optogenetics experiments. However, available commercial devices remain expensive and lack flexibility, while open-source solutions require programming knowledge and/or include complex assembly processes. We present a LED Illumination Tool for Optogenetic Stimulation (LITOS) based on an assembled printed circuit board controlling a commercially available 32 × 64 LED matrix as illumination source. LITOS can be quickly assembled without any soldering, and includes an easy-to-use interface, accessible via a website hosted on the device itself. Complex light stimulation patterns can easily be programmed without coding expertise. LITOS can be used with different formats of multi-well plates, petri dishes, and flasks. We validated LITOS by measuring the activity of the MAPK/ERK signaling pathway in response to different dynamic light stimulation regimes using FGFR1 and Raf optogenetic actuators. LITOS can uniformly stimulate all the cells in a well and allows for flexible temporal stimulation schemes. LITOS's affordability and ease of use aims at democratizing optogenetics in any laboratory.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 35907941 · DOI · PMC9338960
Quantitative structured illumination microscopy via a physical model-based background filtering algorithm reveals actin dynamics [3]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- Despite the prevalence of superresolution (SR) microscopy, quantitative live-cell SR imaging that maintains the completeness of delicate structures and the linearity of fluorescence signals remains an uncharted territory.
- Closing excerpt
- BF-SIM helps preserve intricate and weak structures down to sub-70 nm resolution while maintaining signal linearity, which allows for the discovery of dynamic actin structures that, to the best of our knowledge, have not been previously monitored.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (129 words)
Despite the prevalence of superresolution (SR) microscopy, quantitative live-cell SR imaging that maintains the completeness of delicate structures and the linearity of fluorescence signals remains an uncharted territory. Structured illumination microscopy (SIM) is the ideal tool for live-cell SR imaging. However, it suffers from an out-of-focus background that leads to reconstruction artifacts. Previous post hoc background suppression methods are prone to human bias, fail at densely labeled structures, and are nonlinear. Here, we propose a physical model-based Background Filtering method for living cell SR imaging combined with the 2D-SIM reconstruction procedure (BF-SIM). BF-SIM helps preserve intricate and weak structures down to sub-70 nm resolution while maintaining signal linearity, which allows for the discovery of dynamic actin structures that, to the best of our knowledge, have not been previously monitored.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 37248215 · DOI · PMC10227022
Infrared exposure improves human colour vision undermined by LED light [4]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- Life evolved under sunlight (200-4000nm).
- Closing excerpt
- The implications for public health warrant further investigation as LED lighting continues to be widely adopted in the built environment.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (205 words)
Life evolved under sunlight (200-4000nm). Incandescent lighting was similar (200-3000nm). But modern light-emitting diodes (LED) produce only a narrow band of visible light (400-700nm), eliminating >90% of the solar spectrum. Light impacts life, partly through mitochondrial modulation with different wavelengths triggering opposing metabolic responses. Longer red/infrared wavelengths (650-1000nm) improve metabolism and ageing patterns, while blue light (420-450nm) undermines these processes. The retina has the highest metabolic rate in the body and the greatest density of mitochondria. Hence, visual ability may be vulnerable to changes in the light environment which negatively affects mitochondrial performance. We ask if standard LED lighting reduces visual performance in terms of colour discrimination ability, and whether adding 850nm infrared improves it. We tested colour discrimination with a standard Farnsworth-Munsell 100-Hue test in 55 subjects then divided them into those exposed to standard LED desk lighting or LED lights supplemented with 850nm infrared for a week. Controls were unexposed. There were no changes in controls but significant reductions of 33% in colour performance scores in the LED group and significant improvements of 23% in colour performance scores in those supplemented with 850nm. The implications for public health warrant further investigation as LED lighting continues to be widely adopted in the built environment.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 42789515 · DOI · PMC13614600
Key reviews and meta-analyses
The most cited review-type papers among PubMed’s best-match results for this heading, listed with bibliographic details only. Follow the links for the full text and access terms.
- Research article Association between light at night, melatonin secretion, sleep deprivation, and the internal clock: Health impacts and mechanisms of circadian disruption [5]
- Research article The effects of light at night on circadian clocks and metabolism [6]
- Research article Alerting effects of light [7]
- Research article Illuminating cell signalling with optogenetic tools [8]
- Research article Effects of artificial light at night on human health: A literature review of observational and experimental studies applied to exposure assessment [9]
- Research article Color constancy [10]
References
- Li X, Wu Y, Su Y, Rey-Suarez I, Matthaeus C, Updegrove TB, et al.. Three-dimensional structured illumination microscopy with enhanced axial resolution. . 2023. PMID 36702897 · DOI · PMC10497409
- Höhener TC, Landolt AE, Dessauges C, Hinderling L, Gagliardi PA, Pertz O. LITOS: a versatile LED illumination tool for optogenetic stimulation. . 2022. PMID 35907941 · DOI · PMC9338960
- Mo Y, Wang K, Li L, Xing S, Ye S, Wen J, et al.. Quantitative structured illumination microscopy via a physical model-based background filtering algorithm reveals actin dynamics. . 2023. PMID 37248215 · DOI · PMC10227022
- Robinson M, Barrett E, Jeffery G. Infrared exposure improves human colour vision undermined by LED light. . 2026. PMID 42789515 · DOI · PMC13614600
- Touitou Y, Reinberg A, Touitou D. Association between light at night, melatonin secretion, sleep deprivation, and the internal clock: Health impacts and mechanisms of circadian disruption. Life Sci. 2017. PMID 28214594 · DOI
- Fonken LK, Nelson RJ. The effects of light at night on circadian clocks and metabolism. Endocr Rev. 2014. PMID 24673196 · DOI
- Cajochen C. Alerting effects of light. Sleep Med Rev. 2007. PMID 17936041 · DOI
- Tischer D, Weiner OD. Illuminating cell signalling with optogenetic tools. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol. 2014. PMID 25027655 · DOI · PMC4145075
- Cho Y, Ryu SH, Lee BR, Kim KH, Lee E, Choi J. Effects of artificial light at night on human health: A literature review of observational and experimental studies applied to exposure assessment. Chronobiol Int. 2015. PMID 26375320 · DOI
- Foster DH. Color constancy. Vision Res. 2011. PMID 20849875 · DOI
About this article
- Sources
- NLM Medical Subject Headings (definition, synonyms); NCBI PubMed (counts, identifiers); Europe PMC (open-access abstracts and citation counts).
- Verification
- Every reference was resolved against PubMed on 2026-11-04; title, year and DOI matched.
- Review state
- automated source verified; no human expert review has been recorded yet.
- Version
- 1, last updated 2026-11-04.
See how EvidenceLib is built. Spotted an error? Email support@evidencehelix.com.
Evidence strength
EvidenceHelix's computed view of the study designs behind this topic: how common meta-analyses, randomized trials and reviews are, how recent the literature is, and a plain-language reading. It describes the design mix of the literature. It is not a quality appraisal of any study, and it is not medical advice.