Transcranial infrared laser stimulation is a new non‐invasive form of low‐level light therapy that may have a wide range of neuropsychological applications. It entails using low‐power and high‐energy‐density infrared light from lasers to increase metabolic energy. Preclinical work showed that this intervention can increase cortical metabolic energy, thereby improving frontal cortex‐based memory function in rats. Barrett and Gonzalez‐Lima (2013, Neuroscience, 230, 13) discovered that transcranial laser stimulation can enhance sustained attention and short‐term memory in humans. We extend this line of work to executive function. Specifically, we ask whether transcranial laser stimulation enhances performance in the Wisconsin Card Sorting Task that is considered the gold standard of executive function and is compromised in normal ageing and a number of neuropsychological disorders. We used a laser of a specific wavelength (1,064 nm) that photostimulates cytochrome oxidase – the enzyme catalysing oxygen consumption for metabolic energy production. Increased cytochrome oxidase activity is considered the primary mechanism of action of this intervention. Participants who received laser treatment made fewer errors and showed improved set‐shifting ability relative to placebo controls. These results suggest that transcranial laser stimulation improves executive function and may have exciting potential for treating or preventing deficits resulting from neuropsychological disorders or normal ageing.

中文翻译：

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使用经颅红外激光刺激改善执行功能。

经颅红外激光刺激是一种新的无创形式的低水平光疗法，可能具有广泛的神经心理学应用。它需要使用激光的低功率和高能量密度红外光来增加代谢能。临床前研究表明，这种干预可以增加皮质的新陈代谢能量，从而改善大鼠额叶皮质的记忆功能。Barrett and Gonzalez-Lima（2013，Neuroscience，230（13）发现经颅激光刺激可以增强人类的持续注意力和短期记忆。我们将此工作范围扩展到执行职能。具体来说，我们询问经颅激光刺激是否增强了威斯康星卡片分类任务中的性能，该任务被认为是执行功能的黄金标准，并且在正常衰老和许多神经心理学疾病中受到损害。我们使用了特定波长（1,064 nm）的激光，该激光可光刺激细胞色素氧化酶，该酶催化氧气消耗以代谢能量。细胞色素氧化酶活性的增加被认为是该干预作用的主要机制。与安慰剂对照相比，接受激光治疗的参与者发生的错误更少，并且显示出更强的移位能力。