Transcranial photobiomodulation rebalances cortical excitation/inhibition in young adults with attention…

Abstract

BackgroundAttention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental condition lacking mechanistically grounded interventions. Here, we tested whether transcranial photobiomodulation (tPBM) can restore neural homeostasis in ADHD patients.

MethodsIn a randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled crossover design, 28 young adults with ADHD completed a two-week intervention, receiving active (150 mW) and sham (0 mW) stimulation over the right prefrontal cortex for 16 minutes with concurrent electroencephalography (EEG) recording, alongside 29 healthy controls providing a normative reference.

ResultsBehaviorally, tPBM improved working memory K scores in the ADHD group, with performance closer to typical levels. Across sensor and source levels, tPBM progressively increased relative alpha power, steepened the aperiodic exponent, and enhanced neural complexity, as indexed by multiscale entropy, with widespread effects spanning frontoparietal and attention systems, extending to sensory and default-mode regions, collectively indicating a shift toward normative neural dynamics. Notably, these changes--consistent with rebalanced excitation/inhibition dynamics--predict behavioral improvements in working memory.

ConclusionsTogether, our findings identify tPBM as a candidate approach for restoring excitation/inhibition balance and normalizing large-scale neural dynamics in ADHD patients, providing a mechanistic foundation for its therapeutic potential.

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BibTeX RIS

BibTeX

@misc{yuan2026transcranial,
  title = {{Transcranial photobiomodulation rebalances cortical excitation/inhibition in young adults with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder}},
  author = {X. Yuan and Y. Wang and C. Dang and H. Liu and L. Yang and D. Li and L. Sun and Y. Song},
  howpublished = {medRxiv},
  year = {2026},
  month = sep,
  doi = {10.64898/2026.09.01.26361884},
  url = {https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.01.26361884v1},
  note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}

RIS

TY  - UNPB
TI  - Transcranial photobiomodulation rebalances cortical excitation/inhibition in young adults with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder
AU  - X. Yuan
AU  - Y. Wang
AU  - C. Dang
AU  - H. Liu
AU  - L. Yang
AU  - D. Li
AU  - L. Sun
AU  - Y. Song
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/01
PB  - medRxiv
DO  - 10.64898/2026.09.01.26361884
UR  - https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.01.26361884v1
AB  - BackgroundAttention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental condition lacking mechanistically grounded interventions. Here, we tested whether transcranial photobiomodulation (tPBM) can restore neural homeostasis in ADHD patients.  MethodsIn a randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled crossover design, 28 young adults with ADHD completed a two-week intervention, receiving active (150 mW) and sham (0 mW) stimulation over the right prefrontal cortex for 16 minutes with concurrent electroencephalography (EEG) recording, alongside 29 healthy controls providing a normative reference.  ResultsBehaviorally, tPBM improved working memory K scores in the ADHD group, with performance closer to typical levels. Across sensor and source levels, tPBM progressively increased relative alpha power, steepened the aperiodic exponent, and enhanced neural complexity, as indexed by multiscale entropy, with widespread effects spanning frontoparietal and attention systems, extending to sensory and default-mode regions, collectively indicating a shift toward normative neural dynamics. Notably, these changes--consistent with rebalanced excitation/inhibition dynamics--predict behavioral improvements in working memory.  ConclusionsTogether, our findings identify tPBM as a candidate approach for restoring excitation/inhibition balance and normalizing large-scale neural dynamics in ADHD patients, providing a mechanistic foundation for its therapeutic potential.
ER  -

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