<p>Transcranial Photobiomodulation For The Management Of Depression: Current Perspectives</p>

Abstract

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a prevalent condition associated with high rates of disability, as well as suicidal ideation and behavior. Current treatments for MDD have significant limitations in efficacy and side effect burden. FDA-approved devices for MDD are burdensome (due to repeated in-office procedures) and are most suitable for severely ill subjects. There is a critical need for device-based treatments in MDD that are efficacious, well-tolerated, and easy to use. In this paper, we review a novel neuromodulation strategy, transcranial photobiomodulation (t-PBM) with near-infrared light (NIR). The scope of our review includes the known biological mechanisms of t-PBM, as well as its efficacy in animal models of depression and in patients with MDD. Theoretically, t-PBM penetrates into the cerebral cortex, stimulating the mitochondrial respiratory chain, and also significantly increases cerebral blood flow. Animal and human studies, using a variety of t-PBM settings and experimental models, suggest that t-PBM may have significant efficacy and good tolerability in MDD. In aggregate, these data support the need for large confirmatory studies for t-PBM as a novel, likely safe, and easy-to-administer antidepressant treatment.

Effects of prenatal photobiomodulation treatment on neonatal hypoxic ischemia in rat offspring

“…In the past few decades, PBM treatment has shown beneficial effects on multiple brain disorders in animal models and in limited human studies including ischemic stroke 67 , 68 , Parkinson's disease 69 , Alzheimer's disease 30 , depression 70 , and anxiety 71 . According to previous studies, laser wavelengths in the red (i.e., 600-700 nm) and near-infrared (NIR, 760-1200 nm) range are the most commonly used wavelengths for PBM medical applications 26 , 72 , 73 .…”

Defining Surgical Terminology and Risk for Brain Computer Interface Technologies

“…The slow hemodynamic response to transient changes in neuronal activity imposes constraints on the temporal speed of operation (Matsuyama et al, 2009 ) relative to electrical or magnetic sensing methods. NIR BCI systems also have the potential to function as input systems, since near-infrared and red light have been demonstrated to have potential diffuse neuromodulatory effects when applied transcranially (known as photobiomodulation), likely through an indirect mitochondrial mechanism of action as well as potentially via light-sensitive ion channels or activation of signaling mediators and transcription factors (Hamblin, 2016 ; Askalsky and Iosifescu, 2019 ). NIR BCI systems have demonstrated practical utility for healthy users as well as clinical and research applications (Naseer and Hong, 2015 ).…”

Therapeutic non-invasive brain treatments in Alzheimer’s disease: recent advances and challenges

“…Growing evidence implied that early treatment of anxious-depressive-like behavior could lower the risk of developing AD [7,114]. The beneficial effect of PBM treatment in alleviating depression and anxietylike behaviors has been widely reported [92,[115][116][117]. Intriguingly, PBM treatment with a continuous-wave laser could attenuate anxious-depressive-like behavior and protect against neuronal damage and apoptosis in the AD rat animal model, supporting the potential role of PBM therapy in preventing or slowing down the progression of AD [7].…”

“…• Improves spatial learning and memory [69,70,105] • Improves the auditory sentence comprehension [171] • Increases the ability of Aβ phagocytosis [69,70] • Reduces the levels of Aβ1-40 and Aβ1-42 [69,70] • Regulates microglia's morphological transformation [70] • Upregulates VEGF levels to promote angiogenesis [69] • Alleviates the tau hyperphosphorylation [102] • Attenuates anxious-depressive-like behavior [92,[115][116][117] • Protects against neuronal damage, degeneration, and apoptosis [7] • Improves cerebral perfusion and resting-state functional connectivity [105] • Enhances mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase (complex IV) activity [8,22] • Preserves mitochondrial dynamic and inhibits mitochondrial fragmentation [102,125,126] • Recruits microglia around amyloid plaques and improves microglial phagocytosis [70] • Promotes the transformation of microglia from a neuroprotective to a neurotoxic phenotype and inhibits neuroinflammation [69,102] • Inhibits oxidative stress and oxidative damage by activating NF-κB and PI3K/Akt pathway [125,[142][143][144][145] rTMS • Improves learning and memory [171,174,176,177] • Decreases Aβ accumulation and tauopathy [174,175,179] • Improved auditory sentence comprehension [175] • Regulates long-term potentiati...…”