Improvement of neuropsychological and cognitive functions in older adults through transcranial vibroacoustic stimulation: a double blind, randomized, comparative trial
IntroductionCognitive impairments are critical global public health issues. Recent research has focused on developing non-invasive methods for cognitive enhancement with the potential to slow cognitive decline. This study aimed to explore the effects of transcranial vibroacoustic stimulation (tVAS)...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-08-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnagi.2025.1526088/full |
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| author | Jang-Han Bae Jang-Han Bae Jae-Young Ha Jai Jun Choung Min-Woo Cho Byung-In Oh Kun Ho Lee Kun Ho Lee Young Chul Youn SangYun Kim Dong-Keun Song Chang-Ho Shin Chang-Ho Shin |
| author_facet | Jang-Han Bae Jang-Han Bae Jae-Young Ha Jai Jun Choung Min-Woo Cho Byung-In Oh Kun Ho Lee Kun Ho Lee Young Chul Youn SangYun Kim Dong-Keun Song Chang-Ho Shin Chang-Ho Shin |
| author_sort | Jang-Han Bae |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | IntroductionCognitive impairments are critical global public health issues. Recent research has focused on developing non-invasive methods for cognitive enhancement with the potential to slow cognitive decline. This study aimed to explore the effects of transcranial vibroacoustic stimulation (tVAS) on neuropsychological and cognitive functions in older adults.MethodsThis double-blind, randomization, comparative trial applied tVAS at frequencies of 20 or 40 Hz for 30 min per day over an 8-week period using a novel tVAS device. Neuropsychological assessments, saliva cortisol levels, electroencephalography (EEG), and event-related potentials (ERP) were evaluated before and after the intervention.ResultsFollowing the tVAS intervention, total scores on the consortium to establish a registry for Alzheimer’s disease-Korean version (CERAD-K) 1 and 2 indicated a significant overall improvement in cognitive function in both the 20 and 40 Hz tVAS groups (p < 0.01 and p < 0.05, respectively). Center for epidemiologic studies depression scale (CES-D) scores after 40 Hz tVAS showed a significant reduction in depressive symptoms compared to baseline (p = 0.045), while no significant differences were observed in the 20 Hz group. Individual-level analyses showed that 40 Hz tVAS, but not 20 Hz, increased power across all EEG frequency bands and enhanced N100 and P200 ERP component amplitudes. Group-level comparisons revealed pronounced differences in the gamma band and a significant increase in P200 amplitude in the 40 Hz group.DiscussionIndividual-level EEG and ERP analyses suggest that 40 Hz tVAS enhances neural plasticity, and early-stage sensory processing efficiency. Group-level comparisons further support the successful induction of gamma entrainment, potentially promoting brain network synchronization and increased sensitivity to high-frequency auditory stimuli. While the 40 Hz tVAS intervention demonstrated potential cognitive and affective benefits with favorable safety characteristics, larger-scale studies are needed to confirm its clinical applicability.Clinical trial registrationhttps://cris.nih.go.kr/, identifier registration KCT0010055. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-879a4af0186546e88fc640fa5cbced61 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1663-4365 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-08-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
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| series | Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience |
| spelling | doaj-art-879a4af0186546e88fc640fa5cbced612025-08-20T04:02:22ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience1663-43652025-08-011710.3389/fnagi.2025.15260881526088Improvement of neuropsychological and cognitive functions in older adults through transcranial vibroacoustic stimulation: a double blind, randomized, comparative trialJang-Han Bae0Jang-Han Bae1Jae-Young Ha2Jai Jun Choung3Min-Woo Cho4Byung-In Oh5Kun Ho Lee6Kun Ho Lee7Young Chul Youn8SangYun Kim9Dong-Keun Song10Chang-Ho Shin11Chang-Ho Shin12Digital Health Research Division, Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine, Daejeon, Republic of KoreaAging Convergence Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Daejeon, Republic of KoreaAriBio Co., Ltd., Seongnam-si, Republic of KoreaAriBio Co., Ltd., Seongnam-si, Republic of KoreaAriBio Co., Ltd., Seongnam-si, Republic of KoreaJangsoo Industry Co., Ltd., Seoul, Republic of KoreaGwangju Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias (GARD) Cohort Research Center, Chosun University, Gwangju, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Biomedical Science, Chosun University, Gwangju, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Neurology, Chung-Ang University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Neurology, Seoul National University College of Medicine and Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of KoreaAriBio Co., Ltd., Seongnam-si, Republic of KoreaAriBio Co., Ltd., Seongnam-si, Republic of KoreaDepartment of AI Convergence Biomedical Engineering, Dongguk University, Goyang-si, Republic of KoreaIntroductionCognitive impairments are critical global public health issues. Recent research has focused on developing non-invasive methods for cognitive enhancement with the potential to slow cognitive decline. This study aimed to explore the effects of transcranial vibroacoustic stimulation (tVAS) on neuropsychological and cognitive functions in older adults.MethodsThis double-blind, randomization, comparative trial applied tVAS at frequencies of 20 or 40 Hz for 30 min per day over an 8-week period using a novel tVAS device. Neuropsychological assessments, saliva cortisol levels, electroencephalography (EEG), and event-related potentials (ERP) were evaluated before and after the intervention.ResultsFollowing the tVAS intervention, total scores on the consortium to establish a registry for Alzheimer’s disease-Korean version (CERAD-K) 1 and 2 indicated a significant overall improvement in cognitive function in both the 20 and 40 Hz tVAS groups (p < 0.01 and p < 0.05, respectively). Center for epidemiologic studies depression scale (CES-D) scores after 40 Hz tVAS showed a significant reduction in depressive symptoms compared to baseline (p = 0.045), while no significant differences were observed in the 20 Hz group. Individual-level analyses showed that 40 Hz tVAS, but not 20 Hz, increased power across all EEG frequency bands and enhanced N100 and P200 ERP component amplitudes. Group-level comparisons revealed pronounced differences in the gamma band and a significant increase in P200 amplitude in the 40 Hz group.DiscussionIndividual-level EEG and ERP analyses suggest that 40 Hz tVAS enhances neural plasticity, and early-stage sensory processing efficiency. Group-level comparisons further support the successful induction of gamma entrainment, potentially promoting brain network synchronization and increased sensitivity to high-frequency auditory stimuli. While the 40 Hz tVAS intervention demonstrated potential cognitive and affective benefits with favorable safety characteristics, larger-scale studies are needed to confirm its clinical applicability.Clinical trial registrationhttps://cris.nih.go.kr/, identifier registration KCT0010055.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnagi.2025.1526088/fulltranscranial vibroacoustic stimulationelectroencephalographyevent-related potentialneuropsychological functioncognitive function |
| spellingShingle | Jang-Han Bae Jang-Han Bae Jae-Young Ha Jai Jun Choung Min-Woo Cho Byung-In Oh Kun Ho Lee Kun Ho Lee Young Chul Youn SangYun Kim Dong-Keun Song Chang-Ho Shin Chang-Ho Shin Improvement of neuropsychological and cognitive functions in older adults through transcranial vibroacoustic stimulation: a double blind, randomized, comparative trial Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience transcranial vibroacoustic stimulation electroencephalography event-related potential neuropsychological function cognitive function |
| title | Improvement of neuropsychological and cognitive functions in older adults through transcranial vibroacoustic stimulation: a double blind, randomized, comparative trial |
| title_full | Improvement of neuropsychological and cognitive functions in older adults through transcranial vibroacoustic stimulation: a double blind, randomized, comparative trial |
| title_fullStr | Improvement of neuropsychological and cognitive functions in older adults through transcranial vibroacoustic stimulation: a double blind, randomized, comparative trial |
| title_full_unstemmed | Improvement of neuropsychological and cognitive functions in older adults through transcranial vibroacoustic stimulation: a double blind, randomized, comparative trial |
| title_short | Improvement of neuropsychological and cognitive functions in older adults through transcranial vibroacoustic stimulation: a double blind, randomized, comparative trial |
| title_sort | improvement of neuropsychological and cognitive functions in older adults through transcranial vibroacoustic stimulation a double blind randomized comparative trial |
| topic | transcranial vibroacoustic stimulation electroencephalography event-related potential neuropsychological function cognitive function |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnagi.2025.1526088/full |
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