VR-based gamma sensory stimulation: a pilot feasibility study

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) presents a critical global health challenge, with current therapies offering limited efficacy and safety in halting disease progression. Gamma sensory stimulation (GSS) has emerged as a promising non-invasive neuromodulation technique that enhances gamma neural synchrony, potentially counteracting AD pathology by promoting glymphatic clearance, reducing neuroinflammation and improving synaptic plasticity. However, existing GSS delivery methods rely on simplistic sensory stimuli that lack user engagement, potentially creating adherence barriers and limiting the full therapeutic potential of this approach. To address this, we investigated whether GSS delivered through virtual reality (VR) could safely and effectively evoke gamma-band neural activity while providing an engaging and tolerable user experience. Sixteen cognitively healthy older adults participated in a single-session, within-subject feasibility study consisting of three VR-based experiments. In each, 40 Hz auditory and/or visual stimuli were presented, and neural responses were recorded using electroencephalography (EEG). Tolerability and safety were assessed via digital questionnaires. Source-level analysis from Experiment 1 confirmed that unimodal auditory and visual stimulation at 40 Hz reliably increased gamma power in their respective sensory cortices. Sensor-level analyses from Experiments 2 and 3 showed that multimodal audiovisual stimulation enhanced both gamma power and inter-trial phase coherence—whether delivered through passive video viewing or integrated into an active cognitive task. Participants reported high comfort and engagement, with no serious adverse events. The findings of this study validate VR as a scalable tool for delivering engaging and cognitively relevant GSS, paving the way for personalized therapies that maximize adherence and therapeutic outcomes. By integrating interactive elements, VR-based GSS may uniquely target memory-related neural networks, offering a novel approach to mitigate neurotoxicity and cognitive decline in AD

Brain MRI and biological diagnosis in five Tunisians MLD patients

Metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD) is a recessive autosomal disease which is characterized by an accumulation of sulfatides in the central and peripheral nervous system. It is due to the enzyme deficiency of the sulfatide sulfatase i.e. arylsulfatase A (ASA). we studied 5/200 cases of MLD and clearly distinguished three clinical forms. One of them presented the juvenile form; two presented the late infantile form; and two other presented the adult form. The Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) of these patients showed a diffuse, bilateral and symmetrical demyelination. The biochemical diagnosis of MLD patients evidencing the low activity of ASA and sulfatide accumulation

Psychological mindedness and abstract reasoning in late childhood and adolescence: An exploration using new instruments

This study introduces two new measures of psychological mindedness, applying them in a study of the growth of abstract thinking in children and adolescents in a developmental design. The capacity to achieve psychological understanding of the self and of others involves comprehension of the motives, attitudes, and characteristics of the self and others. Psychological mindedness toward the self (PS) and toward others (PO) may be seen as complex cognitive capacities that should show a pattern of related development in childhood. Three groups of 60 fifth, eighth, and twelfth graders completed two measures of formal operations and two instruments to assess the two components of psychological mindedness. We find that psychological mindedness and abstract thinking both increase significantly with age, although the relationship between them is complex and varies with gender and age. Because the development of abstract reasoning skills does not correlate with the development of psychological mindedness in a simple way, a more complex model is necessary, taking age and gender differences into account. Performance on the two measures of psychological mindedness is found to be largely unrelated, suggesting that these are two different psychological skills. Implications of these findings are discussed, with special reference to education, peer counseling, and psychotherapy .Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/45274/1/10964_2005_Article_BF01537075.pd