Periodic Reporting for period 1 - SYNTROPIC (60-Hz light entrainment to unlock mental health conditions)
Reporting period: 2024-03-01 to 2025-08-31
The overall societal impact of mental disorders is phenomenal, with approximately €170 billion per year spent on treating mood and anxiety disorders alone. One form of mental disorder is posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which develops in 10-30% of individuals who have experienced or witnessed a psychologically traumatic event. So far, medications for treating the disease do not show the desired effective and long-lasting improvement in symptoms.
One of the main challenges is that some neurons in our brain are wrapped in a protective layer, known as the perineuronal nets (PNNs), which prevents the adjustment of neuronal connections. The team previously found that light at a specific frequency stimulates microglia, the brain-resident macrophages, to temporarily remove the PNNs in mice, which resulted in improved brain network activity and learning.
In this proof-of-concept project, we aimed to apply our light entrainment to a preclinical model of PTSD to identify the therapeutic window of successful intervention.
One of the main challenges is that some neurons in our brain are wrapped in a protective layer, known as the perineuronal nets (PNNs), which prevents the adjustment of neuronal connections. The team previously found that light at a specific frequency stimulates microglia, the brain-resident macrophages, to temporarily remove the PNNs in mice, which resulted in improved brain network activity and learning.
In this proof-of-concept project, we aimed to apply our light entrainment to a preclinical model of PTSD to identify the therapeutic window of successful intervention.
We exposed mouse models with severe fear memories to various therapeutic stimulation parameters with 60-Hz light entrainment and assessed their response. We evaluated multiple paradigms, including several control paradigms, and identified a sex-specific response pattern to the treatment, which depended on the therapeutic window.
These results offer new insights into understanding therapeutic strategies that could be achieved through a targeted non-invasive 60-Hz light entrainment, which has sex-specific effects. We are currently preparing the IP for filing the document.