In a new study from Georgia Tech and Emory, researchers found that flickering lights and sound could be a new weapon against Alzheimer’s.
The flicker treatment stimulates gamma waves, manipulating neural activity, recruiting the brain’s immune system, and clearing pathogens—in short, waging a successful fight against a progressive disease that still has no cure.
Previous research had shown that sensory areas in the human brain will entrain to flickering stimuli for seconds to hours.
But this was the first time scientists were able to test gamma sensory stimulation over an extended period of time.
The study included 10 patients with Alzheimer’s-associated mild cognitive impairment.
They wore an experimental visor and headphones that exposed one group to light and sound at 40 hertz for an hour a day over eight weeks, and another group for four weeks after a delayed start.
The team was able to tune the devices to a level of light and sound that was not only tolerable, but it also successfully provoked an underlying brain response.
They found brain activity—in this case, gamma waves—synchronized to the external stimulation.
Gamma waves are linked to high-level cognitive functions, like perception and memory. Disruptions to these waves have been found in various neurological disorders, not just Alzheimer’s.
The human feasibility study showed that the gamma flicker treatment was safe and tolerable. And perhaps most surprising, patients followed the full treatment schedule.
The team found the adherence rates hovered around 90%, with no severe adverse effects reported during the study or the 10-month open-label extension.
Some participants reported mild discomfort that could have been flicker related—dizziness, ringing in the ears, and headaches. But overall, the device’s safety profile was excellent.
The team also found the flicker treatment sparked the activity of cytokines, proteins used in cell signaling—a sign that flicker had engaged the brain’s immune system.
If you care about Alzheimer’s disease, please read studies about this midlife mental problem is risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease and findings of big breakthrough in diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.
For more information about Alzheimer’s disease prevention and treatment, please see recent studies about a new drug for Alzheimer’s disease prevention found safe and effective and results showing that changes in the eye may show early warning for Alzheimer’s disease.
The study is published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Translational Research & Clinical Interventions. One author of the study is Annabelle Singer.
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