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Music and ABS as a Potential Anxiety Intervention

NCT05442086 · Status: COMPLETED · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 92

Last updated 2025-10-03

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Anxiety is a growing problem and has been steadily increasing, particularly in the adolescent and young adult populations in the past 24 years. Music and auditory beat stimulation (ABS) in the theta frequency range (4-7 Hz) are sound-based anxiety treatments that have been investigated in prior studies with subjective measures of anxiety. Here, the anxiety-reducing potential of calm music combined with theta ABS will be examined in a large sample of participants with objective psychophysiological measures (heart rate variability and EEG), stress hormone measures (salivary cortisol) along with subjective measures (STICSA state). Participants with a GAD-2 score of 1 or higher (indicating generalized anxiety) will be randomly assigned to a single 24-27 minute session of sound-based treatment: combined (music \& ABS), or pink noise (control). Pre- and post-intervention heart rate variability and EEG band power (alpha, beta, delta, and theta bands), salivary cortisol, along with somatic and cognitive state anxiety measures (STICSA State) will be collected along with trait anxiety (STICSA Trait), and music absorption (Absorption in Music Scale). The investigators predict that the music \& ABS condition will have significantly increased power in the theta and alpha bands, higher heart rate variability, higher state anxiety reduction, and lower salivary cortisol levels compared to the pink noise control condition.

Conditions

  • Anxiety State

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Music and Theta Auditory Beat Stimulation

Participants will listen to calm music with theta auditory beat stimulation for 24-27 minutes

BEHAVIORAL

Pink Noise (control)

Participants will listen to pink noise for 24 minutes

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Toronto Metropolitan University

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Frank Russo, PhD · Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University)

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Model
PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Max Age
30 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2024-08-10
Primary Completion
2025-08-01
Completion
2025-08-01

Countries

  • Canada

Study Locations

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Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT05442086 on ClinicalTrials.gov