Transcranial Photobiomodulation Intervention for Healthy Older Adults

An astonishing rise in the prevalence of cognitive decline and dementia in older adults was witnessed in recent years, which renders investigations of cognitive intervention especially urgent and vital. Transcranial photobiomodulation (tPBM) is now considered as a potentially non-pharmacologic intervention for cognitive decline and has attracted the interest of researchers. However, there are few existing studies involving the mechanism of tPBM on brain functional networks.

Sixty healthy older participants will be recruited in this randomized, single-blind controlled trial. Each group had thirty participants.Participants in the active tPBM group will take active tPBM and those in the sham tPBM group will take sham tPBM. After that, the investigators will investigate the changes of working memory, which is the primary outcome. Furthermore, based on the neuroimaging technique of functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), the regulatory mechanism of tPBM in intervening older adults will be revealed from the perspective of altered brain functional networks.

This study will provide evidence for understanding whether the tPBM has the potentially therapeutic effect on cognitive function for healthy older adults as a non-drug treatment, and further elucidating the potential brain mechanism, which are of great values in solving scientific and clinical practice issues.

Inclusion criteria

• 50-79 years old, right-handed and Mandarin-speaking subjects;
• Normal age-adjusted, gender-adjusted and education-adjusted performance on standardised cognitive tests

Exclusion criteria

• Current diagnosis with mild cognitive decline or dementia;
• Current major psychiatric diagnoses such as severe depression and anxiety;
• Other neurological conditions (e.g., cerebrovascular disease, brain tumors, Parkinson's disease, encephalitis, or epilepsy)
• Other diseases which could cause cognitive decline (e.g., thyroid dysfunction, severe anemia, syphilis, or HIV)