Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42449279›Full record

Trial reportBMC psychiatry2026

Transcranial photobiomodulation improves prefrontal oxygenation and impulse control in adults with ADHD: a randomized controlled trial.

Farzad Salehpour, Douglas W Barrett, Anagh Mirji, Ayla Farzamnia, Vikas Burugu, Nisarg Shah, Francisco Gonzalez-Lima

Registry-linked trialAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in BMC psychiatry, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT05802680 (Neurocognitive Effects of Non-Invasive Near-Infrared Light Stimulation), which is not on this map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT05802680 narecruitingnot on this map

Neurocognitive Effects of Non-Invasive Near-Infrared Light Stimulation

TypeinterventionalSponsorFrancisco Gonzalez-Lima, PhDRan2022 to 2027Enrolled500ConditionsAttention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Attention Difficulties, Attention Deficit, Cognitive DeficitArmsTranscranial photobiomodulation, Sham transcranial photobiomodulation
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Review
  3. Article
  4. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Farzad SalehpourDepartment of Psychology, Texas Consortium in Behavioral Neuroscience, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA.
Douglas W BarrettDepartment of Psychology, Texas Consortium in Behavioral Neuroscience, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA.
Anagh MirjiDepartment of Psychology, Texas Consortium in Behavioral Neuroscience, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA.
Ayla FarzamniaDepartment of Psychology, Texas Consortium in Behavioral Neuroscience, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA.
Vikas BuruguDepartment of Psychology, Texas Consortium in Behavioral Neuroscience, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA.
Nisarg ShahDepartment of Psychology, Texas Consortium in Behavioral Neuroscience, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA.
Francisco Gonzalez-LimaDepartment of Psychology, Texas Consortium in Behavioral Neuroscience, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA. gonzalezlima@utexas.edu.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundImpulsivity in individuals with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diminishes quality of life. Cortical hypometabolism has been hypothesized to contribute to ADHD. Transcranial photobiomodulation (tPBM) is a safe, non-invasive method for stimulating the prefrontal cortex (PFC), yet its cognition-enhancing effect on impulsivity and sustained attention in adults with ADHD remains understudied. This research evaluated whether acute tPBM administration could improve impulsivity and prefrontal oxygenation.

methodsThe current investigation was conducted in two stages. The first stage included 223 participants with and without a history of ADHD, whereas the second stage focused exclusively on 52 adults with ADHD. In the first stage, participants were randomized to receive either active or sham 1064 nm laser tPBM applied to the right PFC, followed by completion of the continuous performance task (CPT). This stage examined the behavioral effects of tPBM on impulsivity and attentional control in adults with ADHD compared with non-ADHD participants. In the second stage, participants completed the CPT before and after the tPBM session. In addition, functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) data were acquired before and after tPBM while participants performed a 2-back working memory task, enabling assessment of prefrontal hemodynamic responses.

resultsBehavioral results from the first stage showed that, within the ADHD group, participants receiving active tPBM exhibited a 51% improvement in correct rejections on the CPT compared to sham, reaching levels comparable to non-ADHD participants (p = 0.017, large effect size of Cohen's d = 0.93). In the second stage, exploratory analyses suggested that participants receiving ADHD medication showed greater improvements following tPBM compared to non-medicated individuals (p = 0.049), which should be interpreted cautiously. Active tPBM also improved correct rejections in the 2-back task (p = 0.040). fNIRS analyses demonstrated increased prefrontal oxygenation following active tPBM, with higher oxyhemoglobin (p = 0.011) and total hemoglobin (p = 0.038) compared to sham. No adverse events were reported. No sex differences were found in the tPBM effects.

conclusionsThese findings suggest that enhancing prefrontal oxygenation via tPBM may strengthen neural networks supporting cognitive functions in adults with ADHD and merit evaluation in repeated-session studies.

trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov (ID: NCT05802680) on 03-20-2023 (retrospectively registered). https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05802680?term=NCT05802680&rank=1 .

Indexed as

Attention Deficit Disorder with HyperactivityImpulsive BehaviorLow-Level Light TherapyPrefrontal CortexAdultAttentionCognitive EnhancementFemaleHumansMaleSpectroscopy, Near-InfraredYoung AdultAttention-deficit/hyperactivity disorderCognitive enhancementImpulse controlPhotobiomodulationPrefrontal oxygenationWorking memory

Identifiers

PMID42449279

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.