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The Effects of Gamma Sensory Stimulation on Cognitive Functions

Progetto
Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by cognitive decline and impairment in daily life activities associated with increased levels in the brain of both amyloid-β (Aβ) peptide and hyperphosphorylated tau (p-tau). Since there is no cure, or even an effective way to stop or slow its progression, AD has been defined as a major public health challenge in the 21st century. Current treatment options provide only limited benefits, especially in relation to cognitive and affective symptoms. Crucially, since at the time of the clinical manifestation of AD significant deficits and brain damage are already present, the intervention in the Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) stage, which is considered a prodromal stage of AD, is an urgent prerequisite for therapeutic treatment. Research that aims at increasing the knowledge of the pathogenesis of the disease is ongoing in close association with studies on new treatments. The main aim of the present project is to explore, for the first time, the direct and indirect effects of the gamma sensory stimulation (GSS), that is a novel potential groundbreaking noninvasive technique capable of inducing the spontaneous activity of gamma brain waves. Previous studies pointed out that gamma band oscillations are related to cognitive functions, such as memory and attention, as well as to affective, emotional, and socio-cognitive functions and might be important for sensory responses. In our view, GSS might be the perfect instrument to directly empower cognitive and socio-cognitive functioning, and indirectly empower affective and everyday functioning in AD patients. Therefore, the final aim of this project is to lay the foundations for a new possible disease-modifying option to early treat AD symptoms and pathology. The fundamental link for this ambitious, outstanding possibility was discovered by exposing AD mouse models to a GSS system including a non-invasive 40 Hz LED light-flickering, which drove gamma frequency neural activity in visual cortex, together with a 40 Hz auditory tone stimulation, which drove gamma frequency in auditory cortex and hippocampal CA1. Results showed a reduction in the levels of Aβ plaques and p-tau with an attenuation of AD-related pathology. In recent studies, GSS has been safely administered on human subjects. However, there is still no clear evidence whether GSS could improve cognitive and daily functioning in AD patients. Since the effects of GSS are still unexplored, in this project we will adopt a fine-grained approach to explore the cognitive, affective, socio-cognitive, electrophysiological, and behavioural endpoints of this noninvasive stimulation technique. This approach will also allow us to determine which cognitive and socio-cognitive domains are predictors of a possible overall functional improvements in AD patients following GSS treatment.
  • Dati Generali
  • Ricerca

Dati Generali

Partecipanti

PALUMBO ROCCO   Responsabile scientifico  

Referenti

D'ANNUNZIO Elvira   Amministrativo  

Tipo

Bando PRIN 2022

Finanziatore

M.U.R. - Ministero dell'Università e della Ricerca
Ente Finanziatore

Capofila

Università degli Studi G.D'Annunzio di CHIETI

Partner (2)

Università degli Studi di PADOVA
Università degli Studi di PAVIA

Contributo Totale (assegnato) Ateneo (EURO)

89.778€

Periodo di attività

Ottobre 5, 2023 - Ottobre 4, 2025

Durata progetto

24 mesi

Ricerca

Settori (5)


SH4_4 - Neuropsychology - (2022)

SH4_5 - Attention, perception, action, consciousness - (2022)

SH4_6 - Learning, memory; cognition in ageing - (2022)

Goal 3: Good health and well-being

Settore M-PSI/01 - Psicologia Generale

Parole chiave libere (6)

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  • decrescente
Alzheimer Disease
Brain Stimulation
Cognitive Functioning
Cognitive Impairment
Gamma Sensory Stimulation
Mild Cognitive Impairment
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