There's "strong potential" that the research could provide answers to address a disease currently affecting at least 7 million Americans.
For years, scientists have been intrigued by the idea that sound could influence brain health—and preliminary rodent studies seemed to support that theory. Now, a January 2026 study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences offers the strongest evidence yet that listening to a specific type of sound may meaningfully affect Alzheimer’s-related biology.
A group of scientists from Kunming Institute of Zoology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, primarily with backgrounds in genetic evolution, tested 40-hertz (Hz) auditory stimulation—a rhythmic sound frequency previously shown to reduce Alzheimer’s pathology in mice—in nine older rhesus macaque monkeys displaying brain biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease. The goal was to see whether this approach could alter those biomarkers in a brain that more closely resembles a human’s, compared to those of mice.
According to a 2024 study focused on the connection between 40-hertz sounds and older adults with mild cognitive impairment, this type of sound is best described as “a buzzing noise, reminiscent of TV static, or the chirping sounds of cicadas.”
After just seven consecutive days of exposing the monkeys to 40-hertz sounds, the Chinese researchers found that cerebrospinal fluid levels of amyloid-beta (Aβ)—a protein closely linked to Alzheimer’s—rose by more than 200%. While that may sound counterintuitive, higher amyloid-beta levels can be interpreted as a sign that the amyloid is being cleared from brain tissue, rather than accumulating in harmful plaques. This increase also persisted for more than five weeks after the sound therapy stopped—a durability not seen in earlier rodent studies.
The study notes that while there have been advancements in recent years regarding three monoclonal antibody drugs specifically designed to target amyloid-beta, all three “show only modest efficacy in early-stage [Alzheimer’s] patients”—and notably cannot undo established disease progression.
However, when they conducted postmortem brain analyses in four of the monkeys, they confirmed that levels of Tau—another hallmark protein of Alzheimer’s disease—did not change.
Since primate brains are structurally and functionally closer to human brains than those of rodents, the results are more relevant to potential clinical use. This could offer hope for more than 7 million Americans currently living with Alzheimer’s, according to estimates by the Alzheimer’s Association—as well as those concerned that a diagnosis could be in their future.
“Together, these first-time results from monkeys suggest that 40-Hz auditory stimulation has strong potential of a noninvasive [Alzheimer’s disease] treatment method,” the study states.
While this study does not prove that sound therapy can prevent or treat Alzheimer’s disease in people, it strengthens the rationale for future human trials. As a drug-free approach, this auditory stimulation could one day complement existing strategies—pending further research to confirm safety, effectiveness, and real-world cognitive benefits.
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