Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

davereeck t1_iyxm6am wrote

Reply to comment by OliverSparrow in Researchers claim a human trial with 90 people has shown a simple laser therapy improves short-term memory by 25%. The treatment, called transcranial photobiomodulation (tPBM), has had claims in previous studies to also improve reaction times, accuracy and attention by lughnasadh

Laser light (or light from some LEDs) is emitted at a specific wavelength. The sun emits light at all (well, many different) wavelengths. For this effect to work:

  1. the light must be inside a 'window' of wavelengths that our heads are more transparent to.
  2. it has to be at a certain level of power - too little, no effect. Too much, no (or bad) effects.

Lasers and LEDs are a way of getting to those two goals. Other light emitters may work as well but are harder to control (e.g. the sun).

2