Alpha Rhythms Response to 10 Hz Flicker Is Wavelength Dependent

Abstract

Since Adrian and Metthew [1], light may be considered the dominant stimulus for the brain. This statement is confirmed after the discovery of the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) that regulates the master biological clock [2]. In 1998 the discovery of photopigment melanopsin in the ganglion cells of the retina, give new insight in the importance of the light in the pathophysiology of the brain [3]. We have studied the effect of flashing at 10 Hz with LED light of different wavelength on the response of the alpha system. We have shown that this response, consistent with the drive of the frequency and the augmentation of the voltage of the alpha rhythms, is far more significant with the RED-LED than GREEN-LED or BLUE-LED or WHITE-LED (three-chrome) light flashing. We stem the hypothesis that the amplitude increase and phase reset of the alpha waves produced by RED-LED flashing at 10 Hz may be due either to photobiomodulation on the cytochromo c oxidase [4,5] and/or of the photopigment melanopsin, at the level of the retinal ganglion cells, that reinforce the incoming cone-LHC signal and therefore the projection to the SCN [6] or to reinforcement of postsynaptic short term responsiveness, in retinal cone-LHC synapse, due to repetitive stimulation [7,8] or both. We may speculate that the increase of amplitude and phase reset of alpha rhythms, due to flashing at 10 Hz, is primarily modulated in the retina.

Effects of Near-Infrared Pulsed Light on the Attention of Human Beings Using Electroencephalography

“…H. Sakamoto and co-workers showed that intermittent photic stimulation at 10 Hz could externally induce a coherent state in the cortex and persist as a form of short memory [19]. Milone's group showed that a 10 Hz red light-emitting diode (650 nm) light, consistent with the alpha rhythms, gives rise to cognitive function and regulatory function in the brain [20]. Specific brainwaves and functions of the brain can be induced with different kinds of light stimulations.…”