Summary of 40 Hz Vibrations Reduces Alzheimer’s Disease Symptoms:
A new study from MIT found that tactile stimulation using gamma frequency brain rhythms can help reduce Alzheimer’s disease pathology, improve brain health and motor function, and reduce levels of Alzheimer’s disease characteristic protein and neural DNA damage. The study built on previous findings from light and sound stimulation studies and is the first to demonstrate the effectiveness of 40 Hz tactile stimulation in reducing Alzheimer’s disease pathology. This research provides evidence for non-invasive sensory stimulation as a potential therapeutic strategy for neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s.
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New Study Shows Tactile Stimulation Can Reduce Alzheimer’s Pathology
An exciting new study by MIT scientists has found that sensory stimulation using 40 Hz gamma frequency brain rhythms can reduce Alzheimer’s disease pathology and symptoms in mice. Researchers discovered that just an hour a day of exposure to 40 Hz vibrations through tactile stimulation improved brain health and motor function in the animals, reducing levels of Alzheimer’s characteristic protein phosphorylated tau and neural DNA damage. This opens up the potential for non-invasive sensory stimulation as a new therapeutic model in the fight against neurodegenerative diseases.
Tactile Stimulation Successfully Used with Light and Sound
The MIT study builds on earlier work by its team and other researchers, who have demonstrated the successful use of sensory stimulation with light and sound in mitigating Alzheimer’s disease pathology. Gamma Entrainment Using Sensory stimuli (GENUS) technology, using light flickering and sound clicking at 40 Hz, has proven to be effective in reducing levels of amyloid-beta and tau proteins, preventing neuron death, preserving synapses, and sustaining learning and memory in various Alzheimer’s disease mouse models. Furthermore, pilot clinical studies have demonstrated 40 Hz light and sound stimulation as an Alzheimer’s treatment to increase brain activity and connectivity, producing significant clinical benefits in some human volunteers with early-stage Alzheimer’s disease.
Tactile Stimulation Aids Motor Functionality
One significant finding of the new study is that tactile stimulation improved motor function in mice, which was not seen with other sensory modalities. According to Li-Huei Tsai, corresponding author of the study, director of The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory and the Aging Brain Initiative at MIT, and Picower Professor in the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences: “We are very excited to see that 40 Hz tactile stimulation benefits motor abilities, which have not been shown with the other modalities. It would be interesting to see if tactile stimulation can benefit human subjects with impairment in motor function.”
Reductions in Phosphorylated Tau and Neural DNA Damage
The MIT researchers found that Alzheimer’s model mice exposed to 40 Hz vibration for several weeks showed reduced levels of phosphorylated tau, a significant Alzheimer’s disease protein, compared to untreated control mice. Vibration stimulation also kept neurons from dying or losing their synapse circuit connections, preserving them from neural DNA damage.
Promising Findings for Future Human Trials
The study opens potential avenues for human clinical trials with Alzheimer’s disease subjects. Non-invasive sensory stimulation has shown promising results in mice, and tactile stimulation could offer even broader therapeutic horizons. Furthermore, as the study shows, some of its results are unprecedented and could offer a unique and much-needed approach to fighting the devastating effects of neurodegenerative diseases.
Conclusion
The MIT study on sensory stimulation with 40 Hz gamma frequency brain rhythms via tactile stimulation offers unprecedented results in mitigating Alzheimer’s disease pathology in mice by reducing the characteristic Alzheimer’s protein phosphorylated tau and neural DNA damage. Tactile stimulation also improved motor function in the mice, offering significant potential in human clinical trials for Alzheimer’s patients. These results may lead to a new, non-invasive therapeutic approach to combatting neurodegenerative diseases.
