Non-flickering light may improve some memory measures in older adults
A four-week randomised trial in 33 cognitively normal older adults found no measurable group-level differences in recordings of brain electrical activity.
Double-blind, registered NCT06715995
A randomised pilot trial tested non-flickering light stimulation in 33 cognitively normal older adults over four weeks. Researchers assigned 17 participants to stimulation at 40 cycles per second and 16 to a comparison condition at 70 cycles per second. They analysed results from the 29 participants who completed the intervention.
Brain recordings showed no significant differences between groups in the strength of gamma waves, fast electrical rhythms, or how closely activity in different brain regions varied together. This held after both one session and 28 sessions. Additional analyses suggested possible improvements in selected measures of episodic memory—the ability to remember events and experiences—in the 40-cycle group. Both interventions were well tolerated.
Why it matters
The trial addressed whether a drug-free form of sensory stimulation could support cognitive function in aging.
Caveats
The analysis included only participants who completed the intervention. The memory findings came from secondary analyses without statistical adjustment in a small pilot trial.
- Non-flickering 40 hz light stimulation
- Episodic memory
- Occipital-temporal functional connectivity
- Resting-state functional connectivity
- Resting-state gamma-band power spectral density
- Humans
The paper
Chang Gung University
Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, 8 Oct 2026
