ArticleFrontiers in psychiatry2025
Cognitive improvement and prefrontal network interactions in individuals with remitted bipolar disorder after transcranial infrared laser stimulation.
Article in Frontiers in psychiatry, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT05354895 (Study Oxygenating the Brain With Laser Therapy to Increase Mental Functioning in Bipolar Disorder), which is not on this map. Cited by 5 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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.
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.
Study Oxygenating the Brain With Laser Therapy to Increase Mental Functioning in Bipolar Disorder
Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Photobiomodulation and sleep quality: systematic review and meta-analysis.Lasers in medical science · 2026Pooled it
- Interhemispheric Metabolic Effects of Transcranial Infrared Laser Stimulation of the Prefrontal Cortex.Human brain mapping · 2026Trial
- Effects of Chronic Photobiomodulation with Transcranial Near-Infrared Laser on Seizure Frequency and Brain Metabolomics of Rats with Pilocarpine-Induced Seizures.Molecular neurobiology · 2025Article
- Applications of Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) in Monitoring Treatment Response in Psychiatry: A Scoping Review.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Review
- Photobiomodulation mechanisms: duration of action in the human prefrontal cortex.Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Background: Converging evidence suggests that bipolar disorder (BD) involves mitochondrial dysfunction and prefrontal cortex (PFC) hypometabolism associated with cognitive impairment, which persists in remitted BD individuals. Transcranial infrared laser stimulation (TILS) provides safe, non-invasive brain stimulation that enhances PFC metabolism via photobiomodulation of mitochondrial respiration and tissue oxygenation. We tested the hypothesis that the neurocognitive deficits found in BD may be ameliorated by TILS treatments. Methods: This is the first study to explore neurocognitive effects of repeated TILS administration in BD. Using an open-label design, 29 individuals with remitted BD received six weekly TILS treatments. Working memory and attention were assessed with trail-making and 2-back tasks sensitive to TILS cognitive effects in individuals with BD. Changes in PFC network interactions were measured with functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) because this method can measure TILS effects on oxygen metabolism in the PFC of individuals with BD. Results: Participants reported no adverse effects from treatment, confirming the safety of this intervention in individuals with BD. Cognitive test results showed that in people with remitted BD, TILS was effective at improving cognition, i.e., enhanced speed and accuracy in tasks reflecting cognitive flexibility, working memory, and attentional control. Antipsychotic medication improved TILS cognitive effects. The fNIRS results showed a significant reduction in PFC network correlations of oxygenated hemoglobin changes driven by cognitive task performance. The right-hemisphere frontopolar cortex showed greater TILS effects than its left-hemisphere counterpart. Conclusions: Repeated TILS is a safe intervention to improve cognition in people with remitted BD. Continued antipsychotic medication may have contributed to the cognitive improvement. To confirm TILS efficacy, a sham-controlled, double-blinded randomized trial is needed. Clinical trial registration: https://clinicaltrials.gov/, identifier NCT05354895.
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