The Effect of Brainwave Synchronization Using Binaural Beats on Improving Working Memory and Reducing the Severity of Symptoms in Women With Obsessive-compulsive Disorder.
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
Introduction: Binaural beats are one of the new methods of brainwave synchronization. However, there is little knowledge about its clinical applications. The positive effect of this method on executive functions, such as attention and working memory, in the γ band has been mainly confirmed in healthy individuals. Still, its effectiveness on disorders such as obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), with a prominent cognitive profile, has not been established. Therefore, the present study was conducted to examine the effect of binaural beats on working memory and the severity of OCD symptoms in the γ band in the affected women.
Methods: Twenty-nine OCD women aged 25-40 years referring to psychological clinics in Tehran City, Iran, were selected by convenience sampling. After completing the symptom checklist 90 (SCL90) and the Yale-Brown severity scale (SS), the participants were given the Wechsler memory scale (WMS) digit repetition subtests. Then, they were randomly assigned to the experimental (n=15) and control (n=14) groups. The audio file of the binaural beats in the γ band was provided to the experimental group. The participants in the control group listened to the normal (no-wave) audio file. Both groups listened to the audio files for two weeks, three times a week, for 30 minutes each time. The Yale-Brown SS and digit repetition in post-test and one-month follow-up periods were obtained from both groups.
Results: According to the results, the severity of OCD symptoms was significantly reduced in the post-test and follow-up stages by the γ binaural beats (P<0.05). Also, the working memory function was improved, although it was not statistically significant (P>0.05).
Conclusion: The results of this study show that binaural beats can be used as a complementary treatment to reduce the severity of OCD symptoms. Also, it seems that the patients' working memory is strengthened with this method.
期刊介绍：
BCN is an international multidisciplinary journal that publishes editorials, original full-length research articles, short communications, reviews, methodological papers, commentaries, perspectives and “news and reports” in the broad fields of developmental, molecular, cellular, system, computational, behavioral, cognitive, and clinical neuroscience. No area in the neural related sciences is excluded from consideration, although priority is given to studies that provide applied insights into the functioning of the nervous system. BCN aims to advance our understanding of organization and function of the nervous system in health and disease, thereby improving the diagnosis and treatment of neural-related disorders. Manuscripts submitted to BCN should describe novel results generated by experiments that were guided by clearly defined aims or hypotheses. BCN aims to provide serious ties in interdisciplinary communication, accessibility to a broad readership inside Iran and the region and also in all other international academic sites, effective peer review process, and independence from all possible non-scientific interests. BCN also tries to empower national, regional and international collaborative networks in the field of neuroscience in Iran, Middle East, Central Asia and North Africa and to be the voice of the Iranian and regional neuroscience community in the world of neuroscientists. In this way, the journal encourages submission of editorials, review papers, commentaries, methodological notes and perspectives that address this scope.
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