{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,5]],"date-time":"2026-05-05T12:32:01Z","timestamp":1777984321954,"version":"3.51.4"},"update-to":[{"DOI":"10.12688\/f1000research.167964.1","type":"new_version","label":"New version","source":"publisher","updated":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,20]],"date-time":"2026-03-20T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1773964800000}}],"reference-count":20,"publisher":"F1000 Research Ltd","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,20]],"date-time":"2026-03-20T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1773964800000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100004189","name":"Max-Planck-Gesellschaft","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100004189","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["f1000research.com"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["F1000Res"],"abstract":"<ns3:p>Background The photic sneeze reflex (PSR) is a common but underexplored phenomenon where bright light triggers sneezing, affecting ~30% of the population. This study aimed to characterise the light conditions inducing PSR. Methods One male PSR-affected participant logged sneezing events during a 30-day real-world light exposure study. An indoor setup using a multi-primary LED source and an integrating sphere delivered 30-second light stimuli while pupillometric data were collected. Results A total of 82 sneezing events were recorded, averaging 2.73 sneezes\/day (range: 1\u20136 per event). Illuminance increased tenfold before sneezing, peaking 2 minutes prior, and returned to baseline within 10 minutes. Despite exposure to 150+ stimuli, artificial sneezing was not induced, though high illuminance consistently triggered tickling sensations. Conclusions Sudden increases in environmental lighting can provoke PSR. While artificial stimuli elicited only tickling, further refinement of the protocol could enable reliable PSR induction, thereby facilitating mechanistic research.<\/ns3:p>","DOI":"10.12688\/f1000research.167964.2","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,20]],"date-time":"2026-03-20T08:54:08Z","timestamp":1773996848000},"page":"1134","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.12688\/f1000research.crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Sneezing in response to naturalistic bright light exposure"],"prefix":"10.12688","volume":"14","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2683-8130","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Lucien","family":"Bickerstaff","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Munich Technical University of Munich"},{"name":"T\u00fcbingen Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Josef","family":"Trinkl","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"T\u00fcbingen Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9559-5566","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Stephan","family":"Munkwitz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"T\u00fcbingen Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8572-9268","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Manuel","family":"Spitschan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Munich Technical University of Munich"},{"name":"T\u00fcbingen Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"2560","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,20]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"892-893","DOI":"10.1136\/pgmj.66.781.892","article-title":"The photic sneeze.","volume":"66","author":"J Askenasy","year":"1990","journal-title":"Postgrad. 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Rec."},{"key":"ref9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2112-2114","DOI":"10.1038\/eye.2009.165","article-title":"On light-induced sneezing.","volume":"23","author":"D Hyd\u00e9n","year":"2009","journal-title":"Eye."},{"key":"ref10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1721-1725","DOI":"10.1007\/s00405-016-4256-2","article-title":"Investigations on the prevalence of the photo-induced sneezing reflex in the German population, a representative cross-sectional study.","volume":"274","author":"P Kulas","year":"2017","journal-title":"Eur. Arch. Otorrinolaringol."},{"key":"ref11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e9208","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0009208","article-title":"When the Sun Prickles Your Nose: An EEG Study Identifying Neural Bases of Photic Sneezing.","volume":"5","author":"N Langer","year":"2010","journal-title":"PLoS One."},{"key":"ref12","article-title":"ACHOO Syndrome.","author":"V McKusick","year":"2003","journal-title":"OMIM."},{"key":"ref13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"431-433","DOI":"10.3949\/ccjm.54.5.431","article-title":"ACHOO syndrome. Prevalence and inheritance.","volume":"54","author":"H Morris","year":"1987","journal-title":"Cleve. Clin. J. Med."},{"key":"ref14","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"599-600","DOI":"10.1056\/NEJM198403013100923","article-title":"Autosomal dominant transmission of the \u2018photic sneeze reflex\u2019.","volume":"310","author":"S Peroutka","year":"1984","journal-title":"N. Engl. J. Med."},{"key":"ref20","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"124-132","DOI":"10.1177\/1477153512436367","article-title":"Flicker can be perceived during saccades at frequencies in excess of 1 kHz.","volume":"45","author":"J Roberts","year":"2013","journal-title":"Light. Res. Technol."},{"key":"ref15","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"765-768","DOI":"10.1038\/s10038-018-0441-z","article-title":"A genome-wide association study on photic sneeze syndrome in a Japanese population.","volume":"63","author":"D Sasayama","year":"2018","journal-title":"J. Hum. Genet."},{"key":"ref21","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"217-222","DOI":"10.1002\/npr2.12067","article-title":"Possible association between photic sneeze syndrome and migraine and psychological distress.","volume":"39","author":"D Sasayama","year":"2019","journal-title":"Neuropsychopharmacol. Rep."},{"key":"ref16","first-page":"123-126","article-title":"R\u00e9flexe photo-sternutatoire.","volume":"26","author":"J S\u00e9dan","year":"1954","journal-title":"Rev. Otoneuroophtalmol."},{"key":"ref17","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"56","DOI":"10.1007\/s00221-024-06988-4","article-title":"Stimulus conditions eliciting sneezing in response to bright light.","volume":"243","author":"J Trinkl","year":"2025","journal-title":"Exp. Brain Res."}],"container-title":["F1000Research"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/f1000research.com\/articles\/14-1134\/v2\/xml","content-type":"application\/xml","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/f1000research.com\/articles\/14-1134\/v2\/pdf","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/f1000research.com\/articles\/14-1134\/v2\/iparadigms","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,30]],"date-time":"2026-04-30T10:49:10Z","timestamp":1777546150000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/f1000research.com\/articles\/14-1134\/v2"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,20]]},"references-count":20,"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.12688\/f1000research.167964.2","relation":{"has-version":[{"id-type":"doi","id":"10.12688\/f1000research.167964.1","asserted-by":"subject"}],"has-review":[{"id-type":"doi","id":"10.5256\/f1000research.196705.r469324","asserted-by":"subject"},{"id-type":"doi","id":"10.5256\/f1000research.196705.r473896","asserted-by":"subject"},{"id-type":"doi","id":"10.5256\/f1000research.196705.r473896","asserted-by":"object"},{"id-type":"doi","id":"10.5256\/f1000research.196705.r469324","asserted-by":"object"}]},"ISSN":["2046-1402"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2046-1402","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,20]]},"assertion":[{"value":"Indexed","URL":"https:\/\/f1000research.com\/articles\/14-1134\/v2#article-reports","order":0,"name":"referee-status","label":"Referee status","group":{"name":"current-referee-status","label":"Current Referee Status"}},{"value":"10.5256\/f1000research.185114.r427886, Arnold Wilkins, Department of Psychology, University of Essex, Colchester, 12 Nov 2025, version 1, 2 approved with reservations","URL":"https:\/\/f1000research.com\/articles\/14-1134\/v1#referee-response-427886","order":0,"name":"referee-response-427886","label":"Referee Report","group":{"name":"article-reports","label":"Article Reports"}},{"value":"<b>Manuel Spitschan<\/b>; \n<i>Posted: 16 Feb 2026<\/i>; We thank the reviewer for their insightful comments, which we address below.  \n<i><b>Given that the experimenters were unsuccessful in inducing sneezing in the lab by light stimulation one is led to wonder what the important differences between lab conditions and the conditions under which sneezing typically occurs.&nbsp; These may be characterised as reflecting differences in the individual's physiology and differences in the light stimulation. As regards the individual's physiology, thermal comfort is one obvious difference between the natural and lab conditions. Sneezing is usually occasioned when an individual feels the cold, something they are more likely to do when outside than indoors. We are told that &quot;Sneezing often took place during transitions between environments, e.g., walking from home to the bus station, or from the bus station to the workplace.&quot; Presumably the indoor temperature was stable and comfortable, unlike the conditions prevalent when sneezing occurred. Thermal instability is therefore a consideration.<\/b><\/i>  We have now detailed what effects temperature could have and cited relevant literature.  \n<i><b>There were also important differences between the light used in the lab and the daylight outside.&nbsp; The multiLED source did not provide stimulation below 400nm.&nbsp; It is possible that the UV present outdoors contributed to sneezing, given that Askenasy notes that keratitis has been reported to enhance the photic sneeze reflex.&nbsp; If LB wears glasses this is unlikely to be an important concern given that CR39 lenses filter out most light below 380nm. If LB does not, however, there is the (admittedly remote) possibility that UV played a role.<\/b><\/i>  We have now added medical history and clinical evaluation of participant, and also detailed what effects UV could have and cited relevant literature.  \n<i><b>Another indirect concern is that the light engine used pulse width modulation (PWM). Some individuals can discriminate steady from intermittent light at frequencies exceeding 15kHz.&nbsp; Those that can do so tend to suffer eye-strain in everyday life. The intermittent light generates a spatial pattern during a saccade known (unfortunately) as the phantom array. It is remotely possible that the phantom array interfered in some way with eye movements or with appreciation of the bright light. If coloured fringes were visible during a saccade owing to the differences in PWM between the various LED sources, this would have been a distraction, if nothing more.<\/b><\/i>  We have now detailed what the phantom array is, what effects it could have and cited relevant literature.","URL":"https:\/\/f1000research.com\/articles\/14-1134\/v2#referee-comment-15475","order":1,"name":"referee-comment-15475","label":"Referee Comment","group":{"name":"article-reports","label":"Article Reports"}},{"value":"10.5256\/f1000research.196705.r469324, Zacharias Kalentakis, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, 24 Mar 2026, version 2, indexed","URL":"https:\/\/f1000research.com\/articles\/14-1134\/v2#referee-response-469324","order":2,"name":"referee-response-469324","label":"Referee Report","group":{"name":"article-reports","label":"Article Reports"}},{"value":"10.5256\/f1000research.196705.r473896, Enrique Germany Morrison, Universit\u00e9 Catholique de Louvain, Bruxelles, 30 Apr 2026, version 2, indexed","URL":"https:\/\/f1000research.com\/articles\/14-1134\/v2#referee-response-473896","order":3,"name":"referee-response-473896","label":"Referee Report","group":{"name":"article-reports","label":"Article Reports"}},{"value":"The author(s) declared that no grants were involved in supporting this work","order":4,"name":"grant-information","label":"Grant Information"},{"value":"This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licence, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.","order":0,"name":"copyright-info","label":"Copyright"}]}}