Resting-State 40 Hz EEG Activity Before and After Single-Session Non-Flickering 40 Hz Light Stimulation in Cognitively Normal Older Adults: An Uncontrolled Pilot Study.

Background

Forty-hertz sensory stimulation has emerged as a potential approach for modulating neural activity relevant to Alzheimer's disease. However, electrophysiological changes following non-flickering 40 Hz light stimulation in older adults remain unclear. This study investigated whether a single-session intervention of non-flickering 40 Hz light stimulation would be associated with increased resting-state 40 Hz oscillations in cognitively normal older adults.

Methods

In this uncontrolled single-arm pilot study, 16 cognitively normal older adults underwent a 60 min session of non-flickering 40 Hz light stimulation. Resting-state EEG was recorded immediately before and after stimulation. Relative power within 38-42 Hz was analyzed across six predefined scalp regions and the whole-brain measure using one-tailed Wilcoxon signed-rank tests with Benjamini-Hochberg false discovery rate (FDR) correction. Exploratory real-time EEG recordings during stimulation were available in 10 participants.

Results

After FDR correction, resting-state 38-42 Hz relative power was higher post-stimulation in the central (FDR = 0.045, effect size = 0.555) and right temporal (FDR = 0.014, effect size = 0.724) regions. In the absolute-power sensitivity analysis, only the right temporal increase remained significant after FDR correction (FDR = 0.042). Exploratory during-stimulation analysis showed a nominally increased 38-42 Hz signal-to-noise ratio in the right temporal region (p = 0.026). One participant reported very mild fatigue; no other adverse responses were reported.

Conclusions

This pilot study suggests regional increases in resting-state 38-42 Hz activity after non-flickering 40 Hz light stimulation, with additional absolute-power support for the right temporal finding. These findings remain preliminary given the uncontrolled design and small sample.