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Abstract
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a leading cause of disability worldwide with current FDA approved treatments often not providing sustained relief to patients. Transcranial photobiomodulation (tPBM) with near-infrared light (NIR) is a neuromodulation technique that affects mitochondrial metabolism and has shown beneficial clinical outcomes in neurological and psychiatric disorders. At the cellular level tPBM causes various effects including increased oxygen consumption, increased adenosinetriphosphate (ATP) production, and short bursts of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Decreasing oxidative stress through lowering the secondary production of ROS, and increasing neural connectivity, through boosting of neurogenesis and synaptogenesis, as well as increasing energy metabolism are putative mechanisms for tPBM antidepressant effect. Preliminary clinical trials have shown that NIR tPBM is effective at decreasing symptoms of depression compared to sham, however optimal dosimetry is still uncertain. In some reports, the antidepressant effects of tPBM were sustained after treatment discontinuation. Choice of adequate treatment parameters is likely critical to the efficacy and tolerability of tPBM for MDD. General conclusions can be drawn to guide clinicians to the off-label use of tPBM for MDD in clinical practice. [Psychiatr Ann. 2022;52(11):466–471.]
