Scientists at the University of Birmingham in the UK and Beijing Normal University in China have shown that Photobiomodulation Therapy could improve short-term or working memory in people by around 10 per cent.
The treatment is called transcranial photobiomodulation (tPBM) and is applied to an area of the brain known as the right prefrontal cortex, which is significant for working memory.
Working memory improved after only several minutes
The research team showed how working memory improved among participants after only several minutes of treatment. They tracked the changes in brain activity using electroencephalogram (EEG) monitoring during both treatment and testing.
Dongwei Li, a visiting PhD student in the University of Birmingham’s Centre for Human Brain Health, is co-author on the paper. He said:
“People with conditions like ADHD or other attention-related conditions could benefit from this type of treatment, which is safe, simple and non-invasive, and with no side-effects.”
Participants were treated with inactive tPBM to rule out the placebo effect
Researchers at Beijing carried out experiments with 90 male and female participants aged between 18 and 25. They were treated with laser light to the right prefrontal cortex at wavelengths of 1064 nm, while others were treated at a shorter wavelength, or treatment was delivered to the left prefrontal cortex.
Each participant was also treated with a sham, or inactive tPBM to rule out the placebo effect.
Data, including from electroencephalogram (EEG) monitoring during the experiment, was analysed at Birmingham and showed changes in brain activity that also predicted the improvements in memory performance.
tPBM has a positive effect on brain cells’ efficiency
Professor Ole Jensen, also at the Centre for Human Brain Health, said:
“We need further research to understand why the tPBM is having this positive effect but it’s possible that the light is stimulating the mitochondria. These are the power plants in nerve cells within the prefrontal cortex, and this may have a positive effect on the cells’ efficiency.
“We will be investigating how long the effects might last. If these experiments are to lead to clinical intervention we will need to see long-lasting benefits.”
See research article at: science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abq3211