The effectiveness of brain wave synchronization in the theta band on depression and anxiety in opioid-dependent patients.

Background: Addiction is one of the most common psychiatric disorders and is closely related to depression and anxiety disorders. The presence of these disorders makes the process of addiction treatment difficult. Binaural beats are the representation and perception of a stimulus that does not exist in the outside world but is the brain's mental perception error of a virtual third sound, that is, the slight frequency difference between the two sounds.

Methods: The present study was conducted to assess the effectiveness of brain synchronization using binaural beats in the theta band on depression and anxiety in opioid-dependent patients in Tabriz city. The method of conducting quasi-experimental research with two test and control groups is pretest-posttest. The statistical population was all opioid-dependent people referring to outpatient clinics in Tabriz city. The research sample included 30 opioid-dependent people who completed the informed consent form and Beck's depression and anxiety questionnaire. The subjects were randomly assigned to two experimental and control groups and received eight sessions of 7.5 Hz binaural beats, 20 minutes each, by headphones. The questionnaires above were administered again after the completion of the treatment sessions.

Findings: This study analyzed the obtained data by ANCOVA using SPSS20 software. The reasult showed binaural beat in Tetha band (7.5 Hz) have a significant effect on depression and anxiety (P=0.000).

Conclusion: According to the results, the binaural beats in the theta band reduce anxiety and depression in opioid-dependent patients.