MIT researchers have actually discovered that sensory stimulation of 40 Hz gamma frequency brain rhythms using tactile stimulation can mitigate Alzheimers illness pathology and symptoms. A bigger detail from a figure in the paper highlights decreases in phosphorylated tau (magenta) in main somatosensory cortical neurons in Tau P301S design mice treated with 40 Hz tactile stimulation (right). Other groups have duplicated and substantiated health benefits of 40 Hz sensory stimulation and an MIT spin-off business, Cognito Therapeutics, has introduced phase III clinical trials of light and sound stimulation as an Alzheimers treatment.
To produce the vibration stimulation, the researchers positioned mouse cages over speakers playing 40 Hz noise, which vibrated the cages. The differences determined in between the stimulated and control mice were for that reason made by the addition of tactile stimulation.
An MIT study shows that 40 Hz gamma frequency brain rhythm tactile stimulation may minimize Alzheimers disease pathology and symptoms. The research found that such tactile stimulation not only improved brain health and motor function but likewise reduced levels of Alzheimers characteristic protein and neural DNA damage.
Tactile stimulation improved motor efficiency, reduced phosphorylated tau, maintained nerve cells and synapses, and lowered DNA damage, a new research study shows.
MIT scientists have actually found that sensory stimulation of 40 Hz gamma frequency brain rhythms using tactile stimulation can mitigate Alzheimers illness pathology and signs. The research study, which develops on earlier work involving light and noise, revealed that everyday direct exposure to 40 Hz vibrations enhanced brain health and motor function in mice and minimized crucial markers of Alzheimers illness. This research study underlines the capacity for gamma frequency stimulation as a novel healing approach to Alzheimers disease.
Proof that non-invasive sensory stimulation of 40 Hz gamma frequency brain rhythms can decrease Alzheimers disease pathology and signs, already revealed with light and noise by multiple research groups in mice and people, now reaches tactile stimulation. A brand-new study by MIT researchers reveals that Alzheimers model mice exposed to 40 Hz vibration an hour a day for numerous weeks revealed enhanced brain health and motor function compared to unattended controls.
The MIT group is not the very first to show that gamma frequency tactile stimulation can affect brain activity and improve motor function, but they are the first to reveal that the stimulation can likewise minimize levels of the trademark Alzheimers protein phosphorylated tau, keep neurons from passing away or losing their synapse circuit connections, and reduce neural DNA damage.
” This work shows a third sensory method that we can utilize to increase gamma power in the brain,” stated Li-Huei Tsai, matching 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 (BCS). “We are really delighted to see that 40 Hz tactile stimulation benefits motor capabilities, which has not been shown with the other modalities. It would be intriguing to see if tactile stimulation can benefit human subjects with disability in motor function.”
An enlarged detail from a figure in the paper highlights decreases in phosphorylated tau (magenta) in main somatosensory cortical nerve cells in Tau P301S design mice treated with 40 Hz tactile stimulation (right). An image from an untreated control is on the left. Credit: Tsai Lab/MIT Picower Institute
Ho-Jun Suk, Nicole Buie, Guojie Xu and Arit Banerjee are lead authors of the study in Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience and Ed Boyden, Y. Eva Tan Professor of Neurotechnology at MIT, is a co-senior author of the paper. Boyden, an affiliate member of The Picwoer Institute, is also designated in BCS in addition to the Departments of Bioengineering and Media Arts and Sciences, the McGovern Institute for Brain Research, and the K. Lisa Yang Cener for Bionics.
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In a series of papers starting in 2016, a cooperation led by Tsais lab has shown that light flickering and/or sound clicking at 40 Hz (a technology called GENUS for Gamma Entrainment Using Sensory stimuli), lowers levels of amyloid-beta and tau proteins, avoids neuron death and preserves synapses and even sustains knowing and memory in a range of Alzheimers disease mouse designs. Most just recently in pilot scientific studies the group revealed that 40 Hz light and sound stimulation was safe, successfully increased brain activity and connection, and appeared to produce substantial scientific benefits in a small friend of human volunteers with early-stage Alzheimers illness. Other groups have replicated and corroborated health advantages of 40 Hz sensory stimulation and an MIT spin-off company, Cognito Therapeutics, has introduced stage III scientific trials of light and noise stimulation as an Alzheimers treatment.
The new study evaluated whether whole-body 40 Hz tactile stimulation produced significant benefits in two typically used mouse models of Alzheimers neurodegeneration, the Tau P301S mouse, which recapitulates the illnesss tau pathology, and the CK-p25 mouse, which recapitulates the synapse loss and DNA damage seen in human disease. The group focused its analyses in 2 areas of the brain: the main somatosensory cortex (SSp), where tactile feelings are processed, and the main motor cortex (MOp), where the brain produces motion commands for the body.
To produce the vibration stimulation, the researchers positioned mouse cages over speakers playing 40 Hz noise, which vibrated the cages. Non-stimulated control mice remained in cages sprinkled in the exact same space so that all the mice heard the very same 40 Hz noise. The distinctions determined between the promoted and control mice were therefore made by the addition of tactile stimulation.
First, the scientists verified that 40 Hz vibration made a difference in neural activity in the brains of healthy (i.e. non-Alzheimers) mice. As determined by expression of c-fos protein, activity increased two-fold in the SSp and more than 3-fold in the MOp, a statistically substantial increase in the latter case.
Once the scientists knew that 40 Hz tactile stimulation could increase neural activity, they evaluated the effect on illness in the 2 mouse models. To ensure both sexes were represented, the team utilized male P301S mice and female CK-p25 mice.
P301S mice promoted for 3 weeks showed substantial conservation of nerve cells compared to unstimulated controls in both brain areas. Stimulated mice likewise showed substantial decreases in tau in the SSp by two steps, and exhibited similar trends in the MOp.
CK-p25 mice got six weeks of vibration stimulation. These mice revealed higher levels of synaptic protein markers in both brain regions compared to unvibrated control mice. They also revealed lowered levels of DNA damage.
Lastly, the group evaluated the motor capabilities of mice exposed to the vibration vs. not exposed. They discovered that both mouse models had the ability to stay on a turning rod substantially longer. P301S mice also held on to a wire mesh for significantly longer than control mice while CK-p25 mice revealed a positive, though non-significant trend.
” The current research study, along with our previous studies using visual or auditory GENUS demonstrates the possibility of using non-invasive sensory stimulation as a novel healing method for ameliorating pathology and enhancing behavioral performance in neurodegenerative illness,” the authors concluded.
Reference: “Vibrotactile stimulation at gamma frequency reduces pathology associated to neurodegeneration and enhances motor function” by Ho-Jun Suk, Nicole Buie, Guojie Xu, Arit Banerjee, Edward S. Boyden and Li-Huei Tsai, 18 May 2023, Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience.DOI: 10.3389/ fnagi.2023.1129510.
Support for the study originated from The JPB Foundation, The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Eduardo Eurnekian, The DeGroof-VM Foundation, Halis Family Foundation, Melissa and Doug Ko Hahn, Lester Gimpelson, Eleanor Schwartz Charitable Foundation, The Dolby Family, Kathleen and Miguel Octavio, Jay and Carroll Miller, Anne Gao and Alex Hu and Charles Hieken.