Shining light on memory: Effects of bright light on working memory performance

• We discuss a neurobehavioural view on non-image forming performance effects of light.
• Based on this view, we examined whether these effects depend on task difficulty.
• Illuminance level differentially affected easy vs. difficult digit-span performance.
• In the afternoon, bright light led to worse performance on two relatively difficult tasks.
• Bright light improved performance on the easier digit-span task in the afternoon.

This study examined whether diurnal non-image forming (NIF) effects of illuminance level on cognitive task performance depend on task difficulty and time of day. We employed a balanced crossover design with two 60-min sessions of 200 vs. 1000 lux at eye level. Digit-span task difficulty was manipulated within subjects (forward (FDST) vs. backward (BDST) digit-span task), n-back task difficulty was manipulated between subjects (n = 1, 2, or 3). Bright light exposure improved FDST performance during the final measurement block, especially in the afternoon. In contrast, BDST performance deteriorated slightly under bright light in the afternoon. Two-back performance was significantly worse under bright light in the afternoon, while no effect of illuminance level was found on 3-back performance. Thus, the more difficult BDST was affected differently by light intensity as compared to the easier FDST. N-back accuracy, however, did not confirm this role of task difficulty. Future studies should investigate whether similar results hold for other types of tasks and how other variables (e.g., time of day, physiological arousal, or other task characteristics) may influence the direction and magnitude of NIF effects on performance.