UF and the University of Arizona Explore Using Near-Infrared Light to Improve Brain Function of Older Adults

A team of scientists at the University of Florida and the University of Arizona will investigate whether exposing older adults at risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease to near-infrared light may improve their cognition, mood and brain function.

The Revitalize Study is supported by a $3.8 million grant from the National Institute on Aging, $2 million of which will go to UF. It will be the largest trial of its kind to examine the effects of applying near-infrared light noninvasively to the scalp through a cap placed on a participant’s head.

If effective, near-infrared light could offer a safe, easily accessible intervention for Alzheimer’s, a disease that currently has few effective pharmaceutical therapies, said Adam Woods, Ph.D., an associate professor of clinical and health psychology in the UF College of Public Health and Health Professions and one of the study’s principal investigators.

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