Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 31, 2026
Reducing State Anxiety Using Working Memory Maintenance
Published on: July 19, 2017
Reducing state anxiety with alpha-frequency transcranial alternating current stimulation
Rubén Romero-Marín1, Simon Fankhauser2, Javier Solana-Sánchez3
1Institut Guttmann, Institut Universitari de Neurorehabilitació adscrit a la UAB, Badalona, Spain; Departament de Medicina, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Spain; Fundació Institut d'Investigació en Ciències de la Salut Germans Trias i Pujol, Badalona, Barcelona, Spain; Alimente Foundation, Specialized center for eating-related and behavioral addictions, Barcelona, Spain.
Background:
Anxiety reactivity to acute stress is a transdiagnostic vulnerability factor. We tested whether a single session of alpha-frequency transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) targeting the frontoparietal control network reduces stress-evoked state anxiety in healthy adults.
Methods:
In a randomized, blinded, sham-controlled study, 42 participants (mean age 58.9 years) completed an acute stress task before and after stimulation. The task was an adapted moving-circles paradigm in which circle collisions triggered a brief aversive event (mild electric shock plus unpleasant noise and a white flash). Active stimulation consisted of 20 min of 10-Hz tACS (2.0 mA/channel; 30-s ramp up/down) delivered via electrodes at F3, P3, Cz, and T7 (0° phase at F3/P3; 180° at Cz/T7). Sham stimulation used the same montage and ramp periods but no sustained current.
Results:
State anxiety showed a significant Time × Protocol interaction (F(1,35) = 4.22, p = .047): STAI-S decreased after active tACS (Δ = -3.16) but increased slightly after sham (Δ = +1.17). Perceived stress appraisal (SAAS) did not change. Resting-state alpha power at F3/P3 showed no reliable pre-post effects. During the task, left-frontal relative alpha differed by protocol and showed a trend toward larger increases following active tACS. Electrodermal and pupil indices changed across sessions in both groups, with no differential stimulation effects.
Conclusions:
A single alpha-tACS session produced a modest, selective reduction in stress-evoked state anxiety, supporting oscillatory neuromodulation as a scalable approach to dampen anxiety reactivity.
