06/23/2023
40 Hz vibrations reduce Alzheimer’s pathology, symptoms in mouse models
https://picower.mit.edu/news/40-hz-vibrations-reduce-alzheimers-pathology-symptoms-mouse-models
Tactile stimulation improved motor performance, reduced phosphorylated tau, preserved neurons and synapses and reduced DNA damage, a new study shows
Evidence that non-invasive sensory stimulation of 40 Hz gamma frequency brain rhythms can reduce Alzheimer’s disease pathology and symptoms, already shown with light and sound by multiple research groups in mice and humans, now extends to tactile stimulation. A new study by MIT scientists shows that Alzheimer’s model mice exposed to 40 Hz vibration an hour a day for several weeks showed improved brain health and motor function compared to untreated controls.
The MIT group is not the first to show that gamma frequency tactile stimulation can affect brain activity and improve motor function, but they are the first to show that the stimulation can also reduce levels of the hallmark Alzheimer’s protein phosphorylated tau, keep neurons from dying or losing their synapse circuit connections, and reduce neural DNA damage.
“This work demonstrates a third sensory modality that we can use to increase gamma power in the brain,” said 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 (BCS). “We are very excited to see that 40 Hz tactile stimulation benefits motor abilities, which has 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.”
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 appointed in BCS as well as the Departments of Bioengineering and Media Arts and Sciences, the McGovern Institute for Brain Research, and the K. Lisa Yang Cener for Bionics.
