08/16/2024

Could Light And Sound Therapy Treat Alzheimer’s?

A cross section of a mouse brain covered with bright purple and blue pinprick dots
The brightly stained dots in this cross-section of a mouse brain highlight the neurons that may help flush out amyloid plaques, a biomarker of Alzheimer’s. Credit: Tsai Laboratory/MIT Picower Institute

A new potential Alzheimer’s therapy uses 40-hertz frequencies of light and sound to stimulate the brain. Research applying this treatment to mice showed a substantial decrease in amyloid plaques, a key biomarker for the disease, and an improvement in cognitive function. Clinical trials testing the efficacy of this method in humans are underway.

Four squares that have blue splotches in them. The 3rd square, labeled with 40Hz frequency, has notably fewer blue splotches
The blue masses in these images represent amyloid plaques in the brains of Alzheimer’s model mice, stimulated at different frequencies. Notably, only the 40Hz mice show a significant reduction. Credit: Murdock et. al, 2024

But how exactly does this treatment work? Could it be a game changer in Alzheimer’s patients? And what potential does it have for other degenerative diseases, like multiple sclerosis?

Ira talks with Dr. Li-Huei Tsai, professor of neuroscience and director of Picower Institute for Learning and Memory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, about her work developing this therapy.


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Segment Guests

Li-Huei Tsai

Dr. Li-Huei Tsai is a professor of Neuroscience and the Director of the Picower Institute for Learning and Memory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

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