Photobiomodulation research
Cognitive Ability: What EEG Reveals
The study
Zomorrodi and colleagues studied 20 healthy adults aged 61–74 in a randomized, double-blind crossover experiment. Each participant received active and sham stimulation on separate visits. The active session used 810 nm light pulsed at 40 Hz for 20 minutes.
What changed
Resting EEG recordings showed higher alpha, beta, and gamma power and lower delta and theta power following active stimulation relative to sham. The analysis also found changes in network organization.
How this relates to performance
These findings help explain why PBM is being explored as a way to influence brain activity before training. The study measured short-term EEG effects, rather than athletic performance, reaction time, or improvements in a cognitive test battery.
References
Zomorrodi R., Loheswaran G., Pushparaj A., and Lim L. (2019). Pulsed Near Infrared Transcranial and Intranasal Photobiomodulation Significantly Modulates Neural Oscillations: a pilot exploratory study. Scientific Reports, 9, 6309. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-42693-x.