Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30072722›Full record

ArticleNature protocols2018

Noninvasive 40-Hz light flicker to recruit microglia and reduce amyloid beta load.

Annabelle C Singer, Anthony J Martorell, J Miller Douglas, Fatema Abdurrob, Matthew K Attokaren, John Tipton, Hansruedi Mathys, Chinnakkaruppan Adaikkan, Li-Huei Tsai

Abstract read
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Nature protocols, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 74 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
74citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

74 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

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  12. [Effects of 40 Hz light flicker stimulation on hippocampal-prefrontal neural activity characteristics during working memory tasks in Alzheimer's disease model rats].Sheng wu yi xue gong cheng xue za zhi = Journal of biomedical engineering = Shengwu yixue gongchengxue zazhi · 2025
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  14. Brain-Wide Spatiotemporally Distinct Traveling Waves Drive Anxiety-Like Behaviors in Mice.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2025
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14 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Annabelle C SingerCoulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA. annabelle.singer@bme.gatech.edu.
Anthony J MartorellPicower Institute for Learning and Memory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.
J Miller DouglasCoulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA.
Fatema AbdurrobPicower Institute for Learning and Memory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.
Matthew K AttokarenCoulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA.
John TiptonCoulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA.
Hansruedi MathysPicower Institute for Learning and Memory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.
Chinnakkaruppan AdaikkanPicower Institute for Learning and Memory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.
Li-Huei TsaiPicower Institute for Learning and Memory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA. lhtsai@mit.edu.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Microglia, the primary immune cells of the brain, play a key role in pathological and normal brain function. Growing efforts aim to reveal how these cells may be harnessed to treat both neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and developmental disorders such as schizophrenia and autism. We recently showed that using noninvasive exposure to 40-Hz white-light (4,000 K) flicker to drive 40-Hz neural activity transforms microglia into an engulfing state and reduces amyloid beta, a peptide thought to initiate neurotoxic events in Alzheimer's disease (AD). This article describes how to construct an LED-based light-flicker apparatus, expose animals to 40-Hz flicker and control conditions, and perform downstream assays to study the effects of these stimuli. Light flicker is simple, faster to implement, and noninvasive, as compared with driving 40-Hz activity using optogenetics; however, it does not target specific cell types, as is achievable with optogenetics. This noninvasive approach to driving 40-Hz neural activity should enable further research into the interactions between neural activity, molecular pathology, and the brain's immune system. Construction of the light-flicker system requires ~1 d and some electronics experience or available guidance. The flicker manipulation and assessment can be completed in a few days, depending on the experimental design.

Indexed as

LightAmyloid beta-PeptidesAnimalsBiotransformationEndocytosisMiceMicrogliaAmyloid beta-Peptides

Identifiers

PMID30072722

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.