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bioRxiv · 10.1101/2020.02.06.937821

Transcranial Photobiomodulation with Near-Infrared Light from Childhood to Elderliness: Simulation of Dosimetry

Abstract

SignificanceMajor depressive disorder (MDD) affects over 40 million US adults in their lifetimes. Transcranial photobiomodulation (t-PBM) has been shown to be effective in treating MDD, but the current treatment dosage does not account for anatomical head and brain changes due to aging. AimWe study effective t-PBM dosage and its variations across age groups using state-of-the-art Monte Caxrlo (MC) simulations and age-dependent brain atlases ranging between 5 to 85 years of age. ApproachAge-dependent brain models are derived from 18 MRI brain atlases. Two extracranial source positions, F3-F4 and Fp1-Fpz-Fp2 in the EEG 10-20 system, are simulated at five selected wavelengths and energy depositions at two MDD-relevant cortical regions - dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) and ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) - are quantified. ResultsAn overall decrease of energy deposition was found with increasing age. A strong negative correlation between the thickness of extra-cerebral tissues (ECT) and energy deposition, suggesting that increasing ECT thickness over age is primarily responsible for reduced energy delivery. The F3-F4 position appears to be more efficient in reaching dlPFC compared to treating vmPFC via the Fp1-Fpz-Fp2 position. ConclusionQuantitative simulations revealed age-dependent light delivery across the lifespan of human brains, suggesting the needs for personalized and age-adaptive t-PBM treatment planning.

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Yuan, Y., Cassano, P., Pias, M., Fang, Q.. 2020-02-07. Transcranial Photobiomodulation with Near-Infrared Light from Childhood to Elderliness: Simulation of Dosimetry. https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.02.06.937821

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