SynthesisJournal of physiology, Paris
Frontal midline theta reflects anxiety and cognitive control: meta-analytic evidence.
Synthesis in Journal of physiology, Paris. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 283 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
283 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Effects of complex whole-body movements on EEG activity: a scoping review.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Pooled it
- Rhythmic Attention and ADHD: A Narrative and Systematic Review.Applied psychophysiology and biofeedback · 2024Pooled it
- The Overlapping Neurobiology of Induced and Pathological Anxiety: A Meta-Analysis of Functional Neural Activation.The American journal of psychiatry · 2021Pooled it
- The influence of fear on risk taking: a meta-analysis.Cognition & emotion · 2020Pooled it
- Theta tACS Over the Medial Frontal Cortex Modulates Executive Function in Parkinson's Disease: A Randomized, Sham-Controlled Study.CNS neuroscience & therapeutics · 2026Trial
- Effects of a 4-week combined breathing control and self-talk intervention on neural activity and coping skills in athletes: a randomized control trial.BMC psychology · 2026Trial
- The Use of Behavioral Reconsolidation Interference in Depressive Disorders. A Double-Blinded Randomized Controlled Experimental Registered Report.Psychophysiology · 2026Trial
- Theta/Beta Ratio Neurofeedback Effects on Resting and Task-Related Theta Activity in Children with ADHD.Applied psychophysiology and biofeedback · 2025Trial
- Brain-Wave Music: A Personalized Approach to Improving Anxiety Resistance.Neural plasticity · 2025Trial
- Home-Based Individualized Alpha Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation Improves Symptoms of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Preliminary Evidence from a Randomized, Sham-Controlled Clinical Trial.Depression and anxiety · 2023Trial
- Non-invasive brain stimulation modulates neural correlates of performance monitoring in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder.NeuroImage. Clinical · 2022Trial
- Economic threat heightens conflict detection: sLORETA evidence.Social cognitive and affective neuroscience · 2020Trial
- Repetitive negative thinking is associated with conflict-related neural activity that modulates evidence accumulation.Journal of mood and anxiety disorders · 2026Article
- Who is to blame? Outcome controllability and error attribution differentially shape cognitive preparation and feedback evaluation.Cognitive, affective & behavioral neuroscience · 2026Article
- Dose-dependent power and connectivity modulation of low frequency oscillations through transcranial magnetic stimulation in non-human primates.Journal of neural engineering · 2026Article
- Midfrontal theta power relates to response speeding following frustrative nonreward.NeuroImage · 2026Article
- Multimodal physiological correlates of surgeon stress in live robot-assisted surgery.Surgical endoscopy · 2026Observational
- Dissociated in Anticipation, Common in Feedback: Neuroelectrophysiological Mechanisms of Social-Motivational Processing in Bivalent Evaluation Fears.Psychophysiology · 2026Article
- Neural mechanisms of negative emotionality and cognitive control: The role of frontal midline theta.Cognitive, affective & behavioral neuroscience · 2026Article
- Brain rhythms of depression: A predictive processing perspective.Trends in neurosciences · 2026Review
223 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Evidence from imaging and anatomical studies suggests that the midcingulate cortex (MCC) is a dynamic hub lying at the interface of affect and cognition. In particular, this neural system appears to integrate information about conflict and punishment in order to optimize behavior in the face of action-outcome uncertainty. In a series of meta-analyses, we show how recent human electrophysiological research provides compelling evidence that frontal-midline theta signals reflecting MCC activity are moderated by anxiety and predict adaptive behavioral adjustments. These findings underscore the importance of frontal theta activity to a broad spectrum of control operations. We argue that frontal-midline theta provides a neurophysiologically plausible mechanism for optimally adjusting behavior to uncertainty, a hallmark of situations that elicit anxiety and demand cognitive control. These observations compel a new perspective on the mechanisms guiding motivated learning and behavior and provide a framework for understanding the role of the MCC in temperament and psychopathology.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.