Science

Exposure to light pulsing at 40 flashes per second causes brains to release a surge of signaling chemicals — small proteins called cytokines and secreted externally by cells. Increase in cytokines was seen after an hour of stimulation. The new study connects the light flicker with glial and other immune activation.

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Researchers discovered that the exposure to light pulsing at 40 flashes per second—causes brains to release a surge of signaling chemicals — small proteins called cytokines and secreted externally by cells. Increase in cytokines was seen after an hour of stimulation. The new study connects the light flicker with glial and other immune activation.

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Researchers from The University of Texas at Dallas’ Center for Vital Longevity (CVL) conducted a large-scale analysis of the benefits of multiple training types for individuals who are aging healthily, as well as those with mild cognitive impairment.
“Though healthy participants showed more robust cognitive improvements than those with mild cognitive impairments, there was widespread improvement across all groups,” Basak said. “One key finding was that cognitive training was found to significantly improve everyday functioning in older adults, which in turn can provide additional years of independence and potentially delay the onset of dementia.”

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Discoveries that transcend boundaries are among the greatest delights of scientific research, but such leaps are often overlooked because they outstrip conventional thinking. Take, for example, a new discovery for treating dementia that defies received wisdom by combining two formerly unrelated areas of research: brain waves and the brain’s immune cells, called microglia… – This article is a great summary of research findings written for non-scientists.

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Could people’s eyes and ears help fix the damage Alzheimer’s disease does to the brain? Just by looking at flashing light and listening to flickering sound?
A new study led by a prominent M.I.T. neuroscientist offers tantalizing promise. It found that when mice engineered to exhibit Alzheimer’s-like qualities were exposed to strobe lights and clicking sounds, important brain functions improved and toxic levels of Alzheimer’s-related proteins diminished.

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Scientists found that when mice engineered to exhibit Alzheimer’s-like qualities were exposed to flickering lights and 40Hz sounds for one hour a day, their brain functions improved and toxic levels of Alzheimer’s-related proteins diminished. In addition, the 40Hz sound appeared to improve cognitive and memory skills.
Light and sound delivered at a certain frequency —40 flashes or clicks per second — appear to restart the natural 40Hz gamma rhythm of the brain, which is disrupted in patients with Alzheimer’s. This gamma rhythm is essential for local neuronal communication and is associated with concentration and cognitive activity. Neurons in the cortex usually work in groups and are a bit analogous to a musical orchestra. When music instruments synchronize we hear a pleasant melody, but when they desynchronize we hear a cacophony of sounds a little like the tuning up of an orchestra. Similarly, when there is no normal brain rhythm, neurons fire out of sync and cannot generate coherent group decisions.
The improved 40Hz brain gamma waves appear to increase activation of immune cells that became more efficient at chewing up the harmful proteins that form plaques and tangles in Alzheimer’s brain. The 40Hz sound also improved brain blood vessels, further helping clear the toxic proteins. Most importantly, these combined effects of light and sound extended to the prefrontal cortex, which probably explains significant improvement of the cognitive functions.
Experiments also showed that without the light or sound stimulation, results faded in about a week, indicating that Alzheimer’s patients might need to be treated regularly.

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A brain training computer game developed by British neuroscientists has been shown to improve the memory of patients in the very earliest stages of dementia and could help such patients avert some symptoms of cognitive decline.

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Experimental drugs from some of the world’s top pharmaceutical companies have so far failed to halt the march of Alzheimer’s disease, a neurodegenerative disorder that gradually robs people of their memory and cognition.

Now scientists are trying an audacious approach that doesn’t involve medicines of any kind: They’re using LED beams to disrupt gamma waves in the brains of lab mice, hoping to reduce the buildup of beta amyloid plaque — a substance widely thought to contribute to Alzheimer’s.

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When brain cells fire rhythmically and in sync, they produce waves, which are categorized by their firing frequencies. Delta waves (1.5 Hz to 4 Hz), for example, are produced during deep sleep, theta waves (4 Hz to 12 Hz) occur during running and deep meditation, and gamma waves (25 Hz to 100 Hz) are associated with excitement and concentration. Disruption of gamma waves could be a key contributor to Alzheimer’s disease pathology, according to a mouse study published today (December 7) in Nature. And the restoration of these waves, researchers propose, may one day be an option for Alzheimer’s disease treatment.

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Changes in gamma oscillations (20–50 Hz) have been observed in several neurological disorders. However, the relationship between gamma oscillations and cellular pathologies is unclear. Here we show reduced, behaviourally driven gamma oscillations before the onset of plaque formation or cognitive decline in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease. Optogenetically driving fast-spiking parvalbumin-positive (FS-PV)-interneurons at gamma (40 Hz), but not other frequencies, reduces levels of amyloid-β (Aβ)1–40 and Aβ 1–42 isoforms. Gene expression profiling revealed induction of genes associated with morphological transformation of microglia, and histological analysis confirmed increased microglia co-localization with Aβ. Subsequently, we designed a non-invasive 40 Hz light-flickering regime that reduced Aβ1–40 and Aβ1–42 levels in the visual cortex of pre-depositing mice and mitigated plaque load in aged, depositing mice. Our findings uncover a previously unappreciated function of gamma rhythms in recruiting both neuronal and glial responses to attenuate Alzheimer’s-disease-associated pathology.

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