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    Home > Active Ingredient News > Study of Nervous System > After 12 minutes of light, the memory becomes stronger! The team of Beijing Normal University published the results of human experiments on laser stimulation therapy

    After 12 minutes of light, the memory becomes stronger! The team of Beijing Normal University published the results of human experiments on laser stimulation therapy

    • Last Update: 2023-01-01
    • Source: Internet
    • Author: User
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    ▎WuXi AppTec Content Team Editor
    2022 Scientific Breakthrough Voting is now available, welcome to scan the code Participating in the vote, and giving
    us the gift that our brains can actively remember the useful information they have just received in just a few seconds, this short-term memory is called working memory, which is an essential ability in daily life
    。 The difference between people and people's working memory ability is also one of the manifestations of
    intelligence differences.

    A recent study led by Professor Song Yan of Beijing Normal University introduced a convenient, safe and rapid way
    to improve working memory.
    Through multiple double-blind controlled experiments, the research team demonstrated that
    transcranial near-infrared laser stimulation (tPBM) can improve human working memory
    .


    Transcranial NIR laser stimulation refers to the non-invasive passage of near-infrared light through the skull into the cerebral cortex
    .
    Some previous animal experiments have shown that this laser therapy can improve working memory in mice; Some clinical studies have shown that transcranial laser stimulation can improve the cognitive ability of dementia patients, as well as improve advanced cognitive functions
    such as sustained attention and mood.
    In this study, scientists verified the effect of
    transcranial near-infrared laser stimulation on working memory for the first time in human experiments.

    The team recruited 90 healthy adult volunteers aged 18 to 25 to conduct the experiment
    .
    Through randomization, a subset of the volunteers were light-stimulated with a wavelength of 1,064 nanometers and irradiated on the right prefrontal lobe—an area thought important
    for working memory.
    Other volunteers either received shorter wavelengths or irradiated the left prefrontal cortex
    .
    In addition, each participant received inactive "pseudo" irradiation as a control to exclude the placebo effect
    .

    After 12 minutes of irradiation, participants completed a memory test at the request of the researchers, remembering the color or orientation
    of objects that appeared on the screen.
    At the same time, the researchers collected electroencephalogram (EEG) data
    from participants as they completed this visual working memory task.

    Schematic diagram of the experimental process (Image source: Reference [1])
    According to the experimental results published by the research team in Science Advances 1064nm photostimulation acting on the right prefrontal lobe can significantly improve the individual's visual working memory capacity, and can successfully recall 4~5 targets in the memory test, compared with the control group, visual working memory increased by 25%.

    Laser stimulation of other wavelengths or irradiation of other brain regions successfully recalled 3~4 targets, and did not have a significant improvement effect on visual working memory
    .

    In addition, the researchers' analysis of EEG data showed that near-infrared light stimulation acting on the right prefrontal lobe could expand contralateral delayed activity, an event-related potential component associated with working memory capacity, which also predicted improved
    memory performance.




    Image source: 123RF


    However, the current study has only made observations and does not explain why tPBM treatment can have a positive effect
    on working memory.
    Professor Ole Jensen of the University of Birmingham, UK, who co-led in the study, speculates that it is possible that light stimulation of astrocytes in the prefrontal cortex can have a positive effect
    on the efficiency of nerve cells.

    "We also need to confirm how long
    this effect can last.
    " "If we want to base clinical interventions on these results, we need to see that benefit can be maintained
    over time," he said.

    At the end of the paper, the researchers note that patients with disorders such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), schizophrenia, and Alzheimer's disease generally show decreased working memory capacity, and the observations of this study are expected to provide safe, effective, economical, and noninvasive intervention tools
    for clinical application.

    Reference:[1] Short term memory problems can be improved with laser therapy, according to new study.
    Retrieved Dec.
    6, 2022 from https://medicalxpress.
    com/news/2022-12-short-term-memory-problems-laser.
    html
    [2] Chenguang Zhao et al, Transcranial photobiomodulation enhances visual working memory capacity in humans, Science Advances (2022).
    DOI: 10.
    1126/sciadv.
    abq3211

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