Mindfulness augmentation for anxiety through concurrent use of transcranial direct current stimulation: a randomized double-blind study.
Study Goal
The researchers aimed to determine whether transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) could enhance the anxiety-reducing effects of mindfulness during treadmill walking.
Results Summary
The study found that active tDCS combined with mindfulness significantly reduced state anxiety one week post-intervention and decreased alpha-band EEG activity in the rostral anterior cingulate cortex (rACC), with a correlation between rACC current density changes and reduced trait anxiety in the active group.
Population
58 healthy individuals
Effective Dosage
20 minutes of active or sham tDCS
Duration
Single 20-minute session
Interactions
None mentioned
| Intervention | Direction | Endpoint | Population | Dosage | Impact | Claim # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) | decrease | anxiety | healthy individuals | - | augment the effects of mindfulness | #1 |
mindfulness | decrease | anxiety | - | - | suggested for reducing | #2 |
active tDCS | decrease | STAI-state anxiety | healthy individuals | - | showed a significant interaction effect | #3 |
active tDCS | decrease | current density in the rostral anterior cingulate cortex (rACC) | healthy individuals | - | significantly reduced | #4 |
active tDCS | neutral | STAI-trait anxiety and the current density of the rACC | healthy individuals | - | significant correlation was seen between changes | #5 |
one-shot and short intervention | decrease | anxiety | - | one week | reduction in anxiety lasts for | #6 |
Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) have revealed the capability to augment various types of behavioural interventions. We aimed to augment the effects of mindfulness, suggested for reducing anxiety, with concurrent use of tDCS. We conducted a double-blind randomized study with 58 healthy individuals. We introduced treadmill walking for focused meditation and active or sham tDCS on the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex for 20 min. We evaluated outcomes using State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-State Anxiety (STAI) before the intervention as well as immediately, 60 min, and 1 week after the intervention, and current density from electroencephalograms (EEG) before and after the intervention. The linear mixed-effect models demonstrated that STAI-state anxiety showed a significant interaction effect between 1 week after the intervention and tDCS groups. As for alpha-band EEG activity, the current density in the rostral anterior cingulate cortex (rACC) was significantly reduced in the active compared with the sham stimulation group, and a significant correlation was seen between changes in STAI-trait anxiety and the current density of the rACC in the active stimulation group. Our study provided that despite this being a one-shot and short intervention, the reduction in anxiety lasts for one week, and EEG could potentially help predict its anxiolytic effect.