Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34753789›Full record

SynthesisJournal of psychiatry & neuroscience : JPN

Effectiveness of noninvasive brain stimulation in the treatment of anxiety disorders: a meta-analysis of sham or behaviour-controlled studies.

Alessandra Vergallito, Alessia Gallucci, Alberto Pisoni, Mariacristina Punzi, Gabriele Caselli, Giovanni M Ruggiero, Sandra Sassaroli, Leonor J Romero Lauro

Registry-linked trialOpen access · diamondAbstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Journal of psychiatry & neuroscience : JPN. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT06775145 (Therapeutic Effect of Neuromodulation on Anxiety Disorders by High-Definition Transcranial Electrical Stimulation), which is not on this map. Cited by 28 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
28citing papers in PubMed, 7 pooled it
3.6field-weighted citation impact, top 6% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

NCT06775145 nanot yet recruitingnot on this map

Therapeutic Effect of Neuromodulation on Anxiety Disorders by High-Definition Transcranial Electrical Stimulation

TypeinterventionalSponsorNational Taiwan University HospitalRan2025 to 2025Enrolled100ConditionsGeneralized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)ArmsHD-R_cDC+cTBS & sham-L_aDC+iTBS, sham-R_cDC+cTBS & HD-L_aDC+iTBS, HD-R_cDC+cTBS & HD-L_aDC+iTBS, sham-R_cDC+cTBS & sham-L_aDC+iTBS
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

28 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 53 citations in OpenAlex.

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  16. Genetic Vulnerability to Social Anxiety Disorder.Current topics in behavioral neurosciences · 2025
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.

Alessandra VergallitoFrom the Department of Psychology, University of Milano Bicocca, Milan, Italy (Vergallito, Pisoni, Punzi, Romero Lauro); the Neuromi, Milan, Italy (Vergallito, Gallucci, Pisoni, Romero Lauro); the Department of Neuroscience, School of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milano-Bicocca, Monza, Italy (Gallucci); the Studi Cognitivi, Milan, Italy (Caselli, Ruggiero, Sassaroli); and the Faculty of Psychology, Sigmund Freud University, Milan, Italy (Caseli, Ruggiero, Sassaroli).
Alessia GallucciFrom the Department of Psychology, University of Milano Bicocca, Milan, Italy (Vergallito, Pisoni, Punzi, Romero Lauro); the Neuromi, Milan, Italy (Vergallito, Gallucci, Pisoni, Romero Lauro); the Department of Neuroscience, School of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milano-Bicocca, Monza, Italy (Gallucci); the Studi Cognitivi, Milan, Italy (Caselli, Ruggiero, Sassaroli); and the Faculty of Psychology, Sigmund Freud University, Milan, Italy (Caseli, Ruggiero, Sassaroli).
Alberto PisoniFrom the Department of Psychology, University of Milano Bicocca, Milan, Italy (Vergallito, Pisoni, Punzi, Romero Lauro); the Neuromi, Milan, Italy (Vergallito, Gallucci, Pisoni, Romero Lauro); the Department of Neuroscience, School of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milano-Bicocca, Monza, Italy (Gallucci); the Studi Cognitivi, Milan, Italy (Caselli, Ruggiero, Sassaroli); and the Faculty of Psychology, Sigmund Freud University, Milan, Italy (Caseli, Ruggiero, Sassaroli) alberto.pisoni@unimib.it.
Mariacristina PunziFrom the Department of Psychology, University of Milano Bicocca, Milan, Italy (Vergallito, Pisoni, Punzi, Romero Lauro); the Neuromi, Milan, Italy (Vergallito, Gallucci, Pisoni, Romero Lauro); the Department of Neuroscience, School of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milano-Bicocca, Monza, Italy (Gallucci); the Studi Cognitivi, Milan, Italy (Caselli, Ruggiero, Sassaroli); and the Faculty of Psychology, Sigmund Freud University, Milan, Italy (Caseli, Ruggiero, Sassaroli).
Gabriele CaselliFrom the Department of Psychology, University of Milano Bicocca, Milan, Italy (Vergallito, Pisoni, Punzi, Romero Lauro); the Neuromi, Milan, Italy (Vergallito, Gallucci, Pisoni, Romero Lauro); the Department of Neuroscience, School of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milano-Bicocca, Monza, Italy (Gallucci); the Studi Cognitivi, Milan, Italy (Caselli, Ruggiero, Sassaroli); and the Faculty of Psychology, Sigmund Freud University, Milan, Italy (Caseli, Ruggiero, Sassaroli).
Giovanni M RuggieroFrom the Department of Psychology, University of Milano Bicocca, Milan, Italy (Vergallito, Pisoni, Punzi, Romero Lauro); the Neuromi, Milan, Italy (Vergallito, Gallucci, Pisoni, Romero Lauro); the Department of Neuroscience, School of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milano-Bicocca, Monza, Italy (Gallucci); the Studi Cognitivi, Milan, Italy (Caselli, Ruggiero, Sassaroli); and the Faculty of Psychology, Sigmund Freud University, Milan, Italy (Caseli, Ruggiero, Sassaroli).
Sandra SassaroliFrom the Department of Psychology, University of Milano Bicocca, Milan, Italy (Vergallito, Pisoni, Punzi, Romero Lauro); the Neuromi, Milan, Italy (Vergallito, Gallucci, Pisoni, Romero Lauro); the Department of Neuroscience, School of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milano-Bicocca, Monza, Italy (Gallucci); the Studi Cognitivi, Milan, Italy (Caselli, Ruggiero, Sassaroli); and the Faculty of Psychology, Sigmund Freud University, Milan, Italy (Caseli, Ruggiero, Sassaroli).
Leonor J Romero LauroFrom the Department of Psychology, University of Milano Bicocca, Milan, Italy (Vergallito, Pisoni, Punzi, Romero Lauro); the Neuromi, Milan, Italy (Vergallito, Gallucci, Pisoni, Romero Lauro); the Department of Neuroscience, School of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milano-Bicocca, Monza, Italy (Gallucci); the Studi Cognitivi, Milan, Italy (Caselli, Ruggiero, Sassaroli); and the Faculty of Psychology, Sigmund Freud University, Milan, Italy (Caseli, Ruggiero, Sassaroli).
European School of Molecular Medicine · ITUniversity of Milano-Bicocca · ITCognizant (United States) · USSigmund Freud University · IT

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe possibility of using noninvasive brain stimulation to treat mental disorders has received considerable attention recently. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) are considered to be effective treatments for depressive symptoms. However, no treatment recommendation is currently available for anxiety disorders, suggesting that evidence is still limited. We conducted a systematic review of the literature and a quantitative analysis of the effectiveness of rTMS and tDCS in the treatment of anxiety disorders.

methodsFollowing PRISMA guidelines, we screened 3 electronic databases up to the end of February 2020 for English-language, peer-reviewed articles that included the following: a clinical sample of patients with an anxiety disorder, the use of a noninvasive brain stimulation technique, the inclusion of a control condition, and pre/post scores on a validated questionnaire that measured symptoms of anxiety.

resultsEleven papers met the inclusion criteria, comprising 154 participants assigned to a stimulation condition and 164 to a sham or control group. We calculated Hedge's LIMITATIONS: Few studies met the inclusion criteria; more evidence is needed to strengthen conclusions about the effectiveness of noninvasive brain stimulation in the treatment of anxiety disorders.

conclusionOur findings showed that noninvasive brain stimulation reduced anxiety and depression scores compared to control conditions, suggesting that it can alleviate clinical symptoms in patients with anxiety disorders.

Indexed as

Transcranial Direct Current StimulationAnxiety DisordersBrainHumansTranscranial Magnetic StimulationTreatment Outcome

Identifiers

PMID34753789
PMCPMC8580831
OpenAlexW3213174188

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

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.