Published Papers

Click on the citation to read the abstract on PubMed, if indexed, or on the journal website.  Click on the PDF icon to view a downloadable PDF of the article in a new tab.

  • Li VW, Morton E, Michalak EE, Tam EM, Levitt AJ, Levitan RD, Cheung AH, Morehouse R, Ramasubbu R, Yatham LN, Lam RW. Functional outcomes with bright light in monotherapy and combined with fluoxetine in patients with major depressive disorder: Results from the LIFE-D trial. J Affect Disord 2021 Oct 23. Online ahead of print.
    This study examines functional outcomes in the LIFE-D study of light therapy for nonseasonal depression.

 

  • Morton E, Michalak EE, Levitt AJ, Levitan RD, Cheung AH, Morehouse R, Ramasubbu R, Yatham LN, Tam EM, Lam RW. Quality of life impacts of bright light treatment, fluoxetine, and the combination in patients with nonseasonal major depressive disorder: A randomized clinical trial. Can J Psychiatry 66:289-297, 2021.
    This study examines quality of life outcomes in the LIFE-D study of light therapy for nonseasonal depression.

 

  • Lam RW, Teng MY, Jung YE, Evans VC, Gottlieb JF, Michalak EE, Murphy JK, Chakrabarty T, Yatham LN, Sit DK. Light therapy for patients with bipolar depression: Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials. Can J Psychiatry 65:290-300, 2020.
    This is the first systematic review and meta-analysis finding that light therapy has evidence for efficacy for bipolar depression.

 

  • Gottlieb JF, Benedetti F, Geoffroy PA, Henriksen TEG, Lam RW, Murray G, Phelps J, Sit DK, Swartz HA, Crowe M, Etain B, Frank E, Goel N, Haarman BCM, Inder M, Kallestad H, Kim SJ, Martiny K, Meesters Y, Porter R, Riemersma-van der Lek RF, Ritter PS, Schulte PFJ, Scott J, Wu JC, Yu X, Chen S. The chronotherapeutic treatment of bipolar disorders: A systematic review and recommendations from the International Society for Bipolar Disorders (ISBD) Task Force on Chronotherapy and Chronobiology. Bipolar Disorders 21:673-805, 2019.
    This international group of experts provide evidence and recommendations for light therapy in bipolar disorder.

 

  • Levitan RD, Levitt AJ, Michalak EE, Cheung A, Morehouse R, Ramasubbu R, Yatham LN, Tam EM, Lam RW. Appetitive symptoms differentially predict treatment response to medication, light and placebo in non-seasonal major depression.  J Clin Psychiatry 79:17m11856, 2018.
    This study found that increased appetite is an important predictive feature for response to light therapy in nonseasonal depression.

 

  • Ravindran AV, Balneaves L, Faulkner G, Ortiz A, McIntosh D, Morehouse R, Ravindran L, Yatham LN, Kennedy SH, Lam RW, MacQueen G, Parikh SV, Milev RV, CANMAT Depression Work Group. CANMAT 2016 clinical guidelines for the management of adults with major depressive disorder. Section 5. Complementary and alternative medicine treatments. Can J Psychiatry 61:576-587, 2016.
    The Canadian Network for Mood and Anxiety Treatment evidence-based clinical guidelines recommend light therapy as a first-line treatment for seasonal depression and a second-line treatment for nonseasonal depression.

 

  • Lam RW, Levitt AJ, Levitan RD, Michalak EE, Cheung AH, Morehouse R, Ramasubbu R, Yatham LN, Tam EM. Efficacy of Bright Light Treatment, Fluoxetine, and the Combination in Patients With Nonseasonal Major Depressive Disorder: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Psychiatry 2016; 73:56-63. pdf_icon
    Our LIFE-D clinical trial was the first to show that light therapy is effective in NON-seasonal depression compared to a sham control condition, but combining light with an antidepressant was the most effective treatment.