Effects of Transcranial Photobiomodulation on Motor Functions in Healthy Individuals: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Published October 12, 2026. Four days of active light stimulation were associated with faster, more accurate non-dominant-hand tapping than sham in healthy adults. This does not show a treatment benefit in a patient group.

Iravani M, Salimi MM, Jahan A, Koshki TJ, Kalan AE.
Clinical EEG and Neuroscience · Publication date: 2026-10-12
Added to site: 2026-10-16
DOI: 10.1177/15500594261492462

First published online October 12, 2026.

Modalities

Photobiomodulation, QEEG

Clinical focus

Motor performance, Supplementary motor area, Sensorimotor rhythms

Population

Healthy right-handed adults

Sample

60 participants; group allocation denominator was not stated in the abstract

Intervention / method

Active tPBM over the supplementary motor area at 850 nm, 60 mW/cm2 and 36 J/cm2 for four consecutive days, with sequential finger-tapping and resting qEEG assessments.

Comparator

Active tPBM versus sham stimulation

Clinician summary

Active tPBM improved non-dominant-hand reaction time, total movement time and accuracy versus sham, with all reported comparisons surviving Bonferroni correction at p<0.001. Resting alpha and beta power also increased at C3 and C4 in the active group.

How to interpret the findings

Short healthy-volunteer study, no clinical population or functional follow-up, and no verified adverse-event detail in the abstract. qEEG changes do not by themselves establish clinical benefit or a mechanism.

Equipment and disclosures

The abstract identifies wavelength, irradiance, fluence and target, but not a verified device manufacturer. No BrainMaster attribution.

Funding and conflicts were not available in the checked abstract. No correction, retraction or concern relation appeared in the Crossref record; this is a bounded check. AI-assisted review.

Related evidence

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