Let\u2019s explore three major brain structures located near this nasal entry point:<\/p>\n
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1. Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex (vmPFC)<\/h2>\n
Function:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n- \n
Responsible for decision-making and risk assessment<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
- \n
Integrates emotional and reward-related information for complex behavioral choices<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Clinical Note:<\/strong>
Dysfunction in the vmPFC has been associated with mood disorders, impulsivity, and impaired judgment, often seen in conditions such as depression and PTSD.<\/p>\n
\n2. Olfactory Bulb<\/h2>\n
Function:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n- \n
Closely linked to memory and emotion<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
- \n
Explains why certain smells can trigger vivid memories or emotional responses<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Clinical Note:<\/strong>
The olfactory bulb is frequently one of the first regions affected in neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson\u2019s and Alzheimer\u2019s, making it a valuable target for early intervention.<\/p>\n
\n3. Hypothalamus<\/h2>\n
Function:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n- \n
Acts as the brain\u2019s master regulator of homeostasis<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
- \n
Controls essential functions such as temperature regulation, appetite, circadian rhythms, hormone balance, and stress response<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Clinical Note:<\/strong>
Because of its central role in systemic regulation, the hypothalamus is an attractive therapeutic target for interventions seeking to influence brain-body balance.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>Key Functions of the vmPFC<\/strong><\/p>\n\n- Emotion Regulation:<\/strong> The vmPFC helps modulate emotional responses, often interacting with the amygdala, which is involved in processing emotions like fear and aggression. It helps downregulate excessive emotional responses.<\/li>\n
- Decision-Making:<\/strong> This region is critical for value-based decision-making, where choices are made based on the predicted value of different outcomes. It weighs rewards, punishments, and social factors in decision processes.<\/li>\n
- Social Cognition:<\/strong> The vmPFC contributes to understanding social norms, empathy, and moral reasoning. It helps individuals make appropriate social decisions and understand the feelings and intentions of others.<\/li>\n
- Memory Integration:<\/strong> It integrates emotional and social information from past experiences to guide future behavior and decisions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Vielight Patented Intranasal Technology<\/h4>\n
Our patented intranasal technology enables NIR light energy to diffuse through the nasal channel, to the brain’s vMPFC, which is a crucial component of the Default Mode Network.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/div><\/div>
Watch this demonstration with Vielight intranasal technology on a real human skull:<\/h2>\n<\/div><\/lite-youtube><\/div><\/div>![](\"https:\/\/www.vielight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Vielight-Skull-Neuro-NIR-Irradiance-Penetration-and-Scattering-v2.jpg\" "\\"Vielight-Skull-Neuro-NIR-Irradiance-Penetration-and-Scattering-v2\\"")
<\/span>Figure 1: Vielight Intranasal<\/h3>
Penetration of NIR energy through the nasal channel through the cribriform plate.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>
References<\/h2>\n\n
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\n- Gomez J, Pickup S. Cribriform Plate Fractures. [Updated 2023 Jun 1]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2024 Jan-.\u00a0Available from: https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/books\/NBK562192\/#<\/span><\/li>\n
- Erdem G, Erdem T, Miman MC, Ozturan O. A radiological anatomic study of the cribriform plate compared with constant structures. Rhinology. 2004 Dec;42(4):225-9. PMID: 15626256.<\/li>\n
- Bergmann O, Spalding KL, Fris\u00e9n J. Adult Neurogenesis in Humans. Cold Spring Harb Perspect Biol. 2015 Jul 1;7(7):a018994. doi: 10.1101\/cshperspect.a018994. PMID: 26134318; PMCID: PMC4484963.<\/li>\n
- Wilson RS, Yu L, Bennett DA. Odor identification and mortality in old age. Chem Senses. 2011 Jan;36(1):63-7. doi: 10.1093\/chemse\/bjq098. Epub 2010 Oct 5. PMID: 20923931; PMCID: PMC3002399.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":41472,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"bwfblock_default_font":"","inline_featured_image":false,"mc4wp_mailchimp_campaign":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[3012,2741,475],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41448","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alzheimers","category-intranasal-photobiomodulation","category-photobiomodulation"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vielight.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41448","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vielight.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vielight.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vielight.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vielight.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41448"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.vielight.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41448\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vielight.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41472"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vielight.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41448"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vielight.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41448"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vielight.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41448"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![](\"https:\/\/www.vielight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Cribriform-plate-intranasal-light-penetration-vielight.jpg\" "\\"Cribriform-plate-intranasal-light-penetration-vielight\\"")
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