SynthesisFrontiers in psychiatry2023
Photobiomodulation improves depression symptoms: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
Synthesis in Frontiers in psychiatry, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. It is linked to trial NCT07445945 (Physiological Effect of Non-invasive Photobiomodulation on Cognition and Mood in Older Adults With Subjective Cognitive Impairment), which is not on this map. Cited by 6 papers.
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.
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.
Physiological Effect of Non-invasive Photobiomodulation on Cognition and Mood in Older Adults With Subjective Cognitive Impairment
Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed.
- Dose dependence and neurovascular mechanisms of the fMRI response to pulsed photobiomodulation in humans.Journal of cerebral blood flow and metabolism : official journal of the International Society of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism · 2026Article
- Article
- Molecular Mechanisms of Emerging Antidepressant Strategies: From Ketamine to Neuromodulation.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Association Between Age-Specific Sleep Sufficiency and Autism Spectrum Disorder in U.S. Children.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2025Article
- A high-power near-infrared photobiomodulation device: design, fabrication, and primary impact on treatment-resistant depression.Lasers in medical science · 2025Article
- Exosomes as Emerging Therapeutic Platforms in Neurological and Psychiatric Disorders.Pharmaceutical medicine · 2025Review
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
11 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Depression is a common mental illness that is widely recognized by its lack of pleasure, fatigue, low mood, and, in severe cases, even suicidal tendencies. Photobiomodulation (PBM) is a non-invasive neuromodulation technique that could treat patients with mood disorders such as depression. Methods: A systematic search of ten databases, including randomized controlled trials (RCTs) for depression, was conducted from the time of library construction to September 25, 2023. The primary outcome was depression. The secondary outcome was sleep. Meta-analysis was performed using RevMan (version 5.4) and Stata (version 14.0). Subgroup analyses were performed to identify sources of heterogeneity. The certainty of the evidence was assessed using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE). Results: Three thousand two hundred and sixty-five studies were retrieved from the database and screened for inclusion in eleven trials. The forest plot results demonstrated that PBM alleviated depression (SMD = -0.55, 95% CI [-0.75, -0.35], Conclusion: We conclude that PBM is effective in reducing depression symptoms in patients. However, the current number of studies is small, and further studies are needed to extend the current analysis results. Systematic Review Registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/, CRD42023444677.
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Registered trials
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.