ArticleFrontiers in cellular neuroscience2021
Transcranial Laser Photobiomodulation Improves Intracellular Signaling Linked to Cell Survival, Memory and Glucose Metabolism in the Aged Brain: A Preliminary Study.
Article in Frontiers in cellular neuroscience, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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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.
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Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 20 citations in OpenAlex.
- Photobiomodulation in the aging brain: a systematic review from animal models to humans.GeroScience · 2024Pooled it
- Photobiomodulation for the treatment of neuroinflammation: A systematic review of controlled laboratory animal studies.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2022Pooled it
- Lights for aging: Can photobiomodulation restore functionality in the cerebral networks of aged individuals?Neural regeneration research · 2026Article
- Near-Infrared and Red-Light Photobiomodulation for Ocular Aging and Diseases: A Narrative Review.Ophthalmology and therapy · 2026Review
- Early-Life Red Light Exposure Extends Lifespan in C. elegans through ROS-AMPK-Driven Mitochondrial Reprogramming.Aging and disease · 2025Article
- Photobiomodulation as a Hypothetical Strategy to Reverse Botulinum Toxin Effects: Exploring the Neuroregenerative Mechanisms and Translational Potential.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- The transcription factor STAT3 and aging: an intermediate medium.Biogerontology · 2025Review
- Effects of Photobiomodulation on Nervous System Disorders: A Narrative Review.Journal of lasers in medical sciences · 2025Review
- Terahertz Irradiation Improves Cognitive Impairments and Attenuates Alzheimer's Neuropathology in the APPNeuroscience bulletin · 2024Article
- Dosimetry in cranial photobiomodulation therapy: effect of cranial thickness and bone density.Lasers in medical science · 2024Article
- Transcranial photobiomodulation for brain diseases: review of animal and human studies including mechanisms and emerging trends.Neurophotonics · 2024Review
- Review
- A Brief Review of Low-Level Light Therapy in Depression Disorder.Journal of lasers in medical sciences · 2023Review
- Prefrontal photobiomodulation produces beneficial mitochondrial and oxygenation effects in older adults with bipolar disorder.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2023Article
- Photobiomodulation of Cytochrome c Oxidase by Chronic Transcranial Laser in Young and Aged Brains.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Aging is often accompanied by exacerbated activation of cell death-related signaling pathways and decreased energy metabolism. We hypothesized that transcranial near-infrared laser may increase intracellular signaling pathways beneficial to aging brains, such as those that regulate brain cell proliferation, apoptosis, and energy metabolism. To test this hypothesis, we investigated the expression and activation of intracellular signaling proteins in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus of aged rats (20 months old) treated with the transcranial near-infrared laser for 58 consecutive days. As compared to sham controls, transcranial laser treatment increased intracellular signaling proteins related to cell proliferation and cell survival, such as signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3), extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase (ERK), c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), p70 ribosomal protein S6 kinase (p70S6K) and protein kinase B (PKB), also known as Akt that is linked to glucose metabolism. In addition, ERK is linked to memory, while ERK and JNK signaling pathways regulate glucose metabolism. Specifically, the laser treatment caused the activation of STAT3, ERK, and JNK signaling proteins in the cerebral cortex. In the hippocampus, the laser treatment increased the expression of p70S6K and STAT3 and the activation of Akt. Taken together, the data support the hypothesis that transcranial laser photobiomodulation improves intracellular signaling pathways linked to cell survival, memory, and glucose metabolism in the brain of aged rats.
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Registered trials
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