The Use of Rhythmic Light Therapy in Mild Cognitive Impairment

In this within-subjects, crossover study, participants will undergo Electroencephalogram (EEG) recordings before, during, and after each of three 1-hour sessions. All participants will experience all three conditions: (1) dual-frequency visual (10 and 40 Hz), (2) single-frequency visual (40 Hz), and (3) non-rhythmic stimulation. EEG spectral power and amplitude coupling will be analyzed to determine whether stimulation-induced increases in alpha-gamma neural synchrony translate to improvements in cognitive performance.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Mild Cognitive Impairment
• Intervention / Treatment: Device: Flickering Light

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 20
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Barbara Plitnick; Phone Number: 518-242-4603; Email: barbara.plitnick@mountsinai.org

Study Locations

• United States
  • New York
    • New York, New York, United States, 10029
      • Recruiting
      • Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
      • Contact: Barbara Plitnick; Phone Number: 518-242-4603; Email: barbara.plitnick@mountsinai.org
      • Principal Investigator: Mariana Figueiro

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• History of Mild Cognitive Impairment with a Montreal Cognitive Assessment score between 18 and 25

Exclusion Criteria:

• History of epilepsy or photosensitivity
• Blindness or other obstructive vision conditions
• retinal diseases
• presence of another brain disease accounting for their cognitive status

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

3

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Dual frequency flickering light; Light flickering with 10 Hz + 40 Hz visual stimulation	Device: Flickering Light; Red Flickering Light programed to three different visual stimulations
Experimental: Single frequency flickering light; Light flickering with 10 Hz visual stimulation	Device: Flickering Light; Red Flickering Light programed to three different visual stimulations
Placebo Comparator: non-rhythmic flickering light; Light flickering with random visual stimulation	Device: Flickering Light; Red Flickering Light programed to three different visual stimulations

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
EEG-based neural synchrony	Change in spectral power and amplitude in the alpha and gamma EEG bands. Increase in power and amplitude is indicative of increases in neural synchrony.	5 minute EEG recording will be done at start, middle and end of each one-hour session, each session separated by one week

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Digit Span Task	Change in cognition will be measured by the Digit Span Task which is a working memory task. Increase in accuracy and response time indicates improved cognitive performance. Digit Span. Memory span is the longest list of items that a person can repeat back in correct order immediately after presentation on 50% of all trials. Items may include words, numbers, or letters. The task is known as digit span when numbers are used. Memory span is a common measure of short-term memory. A digit-span task is used to measure working memory's number storage capacity. The item score is the sum of the scores on the two trials for that item (range=0-2). The total raw score for backwards digit span is the sum of the item scores; maximum backwards digit span total raw score is 16 points. Higher score indicates better health outcomes.	Completed at start and end of each one-hour session, each session will be separated by one week

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Mariana Figueiro, PhD, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): December 8, 2025
• Primary Completion (Estimated): June 30, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): June 30, 2026

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: December 19, 2025
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 19, 2025
• First Posted (Actual): January 5, 2026

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): January 5, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 19, 2025
• Last Verified: December 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Mental Disorders; Neurocognitive Disorders; Cognition Disorders; Cognitive Dysfunction
• Other Study ID Numbers: STUDY-25-01233

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO
• IPD Plan Description: As the primary outcome measure of this study is EEG recordings, individual results will not be shared.

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No