@LB: That's... a load of bullshit.
No. There is no light that penetrates through several inches of skin, skull, and brain matter.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22296809
"in mammals, light penetrates the skull bone and reaches the brain"
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/237174.php
"The light-sensitive cells in question are found in the hypothalamus, an area at the base of the brain "
On the first one, still bullshit:
Given that a proper placebo treatment can be implemented via ear canals, further investigations with randomized placebo-controlled and/or dose-finding study designs regarding the extraocular transcranial bright light in the treatment of SAD are called for.
tldr version (because you clearly couldn't bother reading it); there were no controls at all. That's what a pilot study is.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilot_experimentAs for that second one, here's your actual paper:
http://www.jneurosci.org/content/31/43/15455.fullRead it, then tell me where it says the brain itself is photo-sensitive. Hint: it doesn't. Light goes in your eyes, not through layers of skin, skull, and brain. Your neurons then send it to your brain. If you can't see your brain from the outside, you can't see the outside from your brain. I can't even believe I'm having to debate this shit.