Agnes S Chan1,2, Tsz Lok Lee1, Michael K Yeung1, Michael R Hamblin3,4,5. 1. Department of Psychology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China. 2. Chanwuyi Research Center for Neuropsychological Well-Being, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China. 3. Wellman Center for Photomedicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts. 4. Department of Dermatology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts. 5. Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: The frontal lobe hypothesis of age-related cognitive decline suggests that the deterioration of the prefrontal cortical regions that occurs with aging leads to executive function deficits. Photobiomodulation (PBM) is a newly developed, noninvasive technique for enhancing brain function, which has shown promising effects on cognitive function in both animals and humans. This randomized, sham-controlled study sought to examine the effects of PBM on the frontal brain function of older adults. METHODS/DESIGNS: Thirty older adults without a neuropsychiatric history performed cognitive tests of frontal function (ie, the Eriksen flanker and category fluency tests) before and after a single 7.5-minute session of real or sham PBM. The PBM device consisted of three separate light-emitting diode cluster heads (633 and 870 nm), which were applied to both sides of the forehead and posterior midline, and delivered a total energy of 1349 J. RESULTS: Significant group (experimental, control) × time (pre-PBM, post-PBM) interactions were found for the flanker and category fluency test scores. Specifically, only the older adults who received real PBM exhibited significant improvements in their action selection, inhibition ability, and mental flexibility after vs before PBM. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings support that PBM may enhance the frontal brain functions of older adults in a safe and cost-effective manner.
RCT Entities:
OBJECTIVES: The frontal lobe hypothesis of age-related cognitive decline suggests that the deterioration of the prefrontal cortical regions that occurs with aging leads to executive function deficits. Photobiomodulation (PBM) is a newly developed, noninvasive technique for enhancing brain function, which has shown promising effects on cognitive function in both animals and humans. This randomized, sham-controlled study sought to examine the effects of PBM on the frontal brain function of older adults. METHODS/DESIGNS: Thirty older adults without a neuropsychiatric history performed cognitive tests of frontal function (ie, the Eriksen flanker and category fluency tests) before and after a single 7.5-minute session of real or sham PBM. The PBM device consisted of three separate light-emitting diode cluster heads (633 and 870 nm), which were applied to both sides of the forehead and posterior midline, and delivered a total energy of 1349 J. RESULTS: Significant group (experimental, control) × time (pre-PBM, post-PBM) interactions were found for the flanker and category fluency test scores. Specifically, only the older adults who received real PBM exhibited significant improvements in their action selection, inhibition ability, and mental flexibility after vs before PBM. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings support that PBM may enhance the frontal brain functions of older adults in a safe and cost-effective manner.
Authors: Forest R Sheppard; Marguerite R Kelher; Ernest E Moore; Nathan J D McLaughlin; Anirban Banerjee; Christopher C Silliman Journal: J Leukoc Biol Date: 2005-10-04 Impact factor: 4.962
Authors: Margaret A Naeser; Ross Zafonte; Maxine H Krengel; Paula I Martin; Judith Frazier; Michael R Hamblin; Jeffrey A Knight; William P Meehan; Errol H Baker Journal: J Neurotrauma Date: 2014-05-08 Impact factor: 5.269
Authors: Enrique Vargas; Douglas W Barrett; Celeste L Saucedo; Li-Da Huang; Jacob A Abraham; Hirofumi Tanaka; Andreana P Haley; F Gonzalez-Lima Journal: Lasers Med Sci Date: 2017-05-02 Impact factor: 3.161
Authors: Farzad Salehpour; Sevda Gholipour-Khalili; Fereshteh Farajdokht; Farzin Kamari; Tomasz Walski; Michael R Hamblin; Joseph O DiDuro; Paolo Cassano Journal: Rev Neurosci Date: 2020-04-28 Impact factor: 4.353
Authors: Kathryn B Schaffer; Tala Dandan; Dunya Bayat; Matthew R Castelo; Summer H Reames; Linda Hutkin-Slade; Walter L Biffl Journal: Eur Geriatr Med Date: 2021-09-20 Impact factor: 1.710