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Updated: May 31, 2026

Reducing State Anxiety Using Working Memory Maintenance

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.

Journal of Affective Disorders

|May 28, 2026

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Summary

A single session of alpha-frequency transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) effectively reduced state anxiety after acute stress in healthy adults. This neuromodulation approach offers a scalable method for dampening anxiety reactivity.

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Psychiatry
Neuromodulation

Background:

Anxiety reactivity to acute stress is a key vulnerability factor across various mental health conditions.
Investigating non-invasive brain stimulation techniques like tACS is crucial for understanding and managing anxiety.

Purpose of the Study:

To determine if a single session of alpha-frequency transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) targeting the frontoparietal control network can reduce state anxiety evoked by acute stress in healthy adults.

Main Methods:

A randomized, blinded, sham-controlled study involving 42 healthy adults.
Participants underwent an acute stress task (adapted moving-circles paradigm with aversive stimuli) before and after active or sham 10-Hz alpha-tACS.
Stimulation involved 20 minutes of tACS delivered via specific electrode placements (F3, P3, Cz, T7).

Keywords:

Electroencephalography Entropy Frequency band power Legged locomotion Measurement Particle measurements Recording Time series analysis resting state electroencephalography (rsEEG)sample entropy within-participants variability

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The Combination of Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation and Electroencephalogram

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The Combination of Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation and Electroencephalogram

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Main Results:

State anxiety (STAI-S) significantly decreased after active tACS but slightly increased after sham stimulation, indicating a protocol-specific effect.
No significant changes were observed in perceived stress appraisal (SAAS) or resting-state alpha power.
Task-related left-frontal relative alpha showed a trend toward larger increases following active tACS, while electrodermal and pupil measures did not differ between groups.

Conclusions:

A single session of alpha-tACS demonstrated a modest yet selective reduction in stress-evoked state anxiety.
These findings support oscillatory neuromodulation as a promising and scalable approach for mitigating anxiety reactivity.