ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Hum. Neurosci.
Sec. Sensory Neuroscience
Exploring the Potential Effects of Different Frequencies of Flashing Light Stimulation on Alleviating Mental Fatigue: A Behavioral and EEG Study
Provisionally accepted
- 1Tianjin University of Sport, Tianjin, China
- 2Military Medical Science Academy, Tianjin, China
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Mental fatigue is characterized by reduced attention and prolonged reaction times due to sustained cognitive effort. It poses significant risks in professions requiring high vigilance, such as driving and air traffic control, contributing to numerous accidents each year. At the neural level, mental fatigue is associated with alterations in cortical oscillatory activity, particularly in the alpha and beta frequency bands, which reflect changes in alertness and cognitive engagement. While flashing light stimulation has emerged as a promising non-invasive approach to enhance alertness by modulating brain oscillations, existing research has predominantly focused on single-frequency stimulation, leaving the potential benefits of broader frequency-band stimulation largely unexplored. The study aimed to explore the potential effects of different frequencies of flashing light stimulation on alleviating mental fatigue. By applying both single-frequency and frequency-band light stimulation, we observed its effects on mental fatigue recovery after a working memory task and analyzed the corresponding EEG signals. Thirty-two right-handed males were recruited for this study. A 2-back task was used to establish a mental fatigue model, and mental fatigue changes were assessed through the Psychomotor Vigilance Task (PVT) and EEG data. Participants were divided into a control group and 20-30Hz, 40Hz, and 60Hz flashing light stimulation groups, with stimulation lasting 3 minutes. EEG data were analyzed using power spectral density and Lempel-Ziv complexity (LZC) metrics. The 20-30Hz frequency-band light stimulation significantly improved reaction time and subjective fatigue, with EEG data showing normalization (decrease) of the alpha-to-beta power ratio and LZC, particularly in the frontal and occipital regions. In contrast, the 40Hz and 60Hz groups exhibited different EEG modulation patterns, but their effects on fatigue were more complex. Flashing light stimulation at 20-30Hz frequencies effectively alleviates mental fatigue and enhances alertness. Further research should investigate the optimal parameters for light stimulation and its potential applications in clinical and everyday settings.
Keywords: EEG, Flashing light stimulation, frequency modulation, Lempel-Ziv complexity, Mental Fatigue
Received: 13 Aug 2025; Accepted: 21 Jan 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Liu, Wei, Chen, Gao, Wei, Qin, Cui, Wang and Wang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Tianhui Wang
Kun Wang
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