Department of Psychology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
Chanwuyi Research Center for Neuropsychological Well-Being, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
Int J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2019 Feb;34(2):369-377. doi: 10.1002/gps.5039. Epub 2018 Dec 10.
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.
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.
Our findings support that PBM may enhance the frontal brain functions of older adults in a safe and cost-effective manner.
与年龄相关的认知能力下降的额叶假说表明，随着年龄的增长，前额皮质区域的恶化导致执行功能缺陷。光生物调节（PBM）是一种新开发的、非侵入性的增强大脑功能的技术，它在动物和人类的认知功能上都显示出了有前景的效果。这项随机、假对照研究旨在检验 PBM 对老年人额叶大脑功能的影响。
方法/设计：30 名没有神经精神病史的老年人在接受单次 7.5 分钟的真实或假 PBM 治疗前后进行了额叶功能的认知测试（即，Eriksen 侧翼和类别流畅性测试）。PBM 设备由三个单独的发光二极管簇头（633 和 870nm）组成，应用于前额的两侧和后中线，共输送 1349J 的能量。
在侧翼和类别流畅性测试分数上发现了显著的组（实验组、对照组）×时间（PBM 前、PBM 后）交互作用。具体来说，只有接受真实 PBM 的老年人在 PBM 后表现出了显著的动作选择、抑制能力和心理灵活性的改善。
我们的研究结果支持 PBM 可以以安全且具有成本效益的方式增强老年人的额叶大脑功能。
