Given the negative correlation between hippocampal AT8 concentration and NSC number, it is reasonable to conclude that the increased NSC number can be attributed to the decrease in hyperphosphorylated tau, however the possibility that PBM has direct effects on NSC proliferation and differentiation cannot be discounted, in fact it has been shown that PBM alters the expression of miRNA known to regulate proliferation and differentiation of NSC in primary hippocampal stem cells cultured from rats exposed to traumatic brain injury [20]. Here, MAPT is linked to injury.