AcuTA: Acupuncture in Test Anxiety

Goethe University

Status: Completed

Conditions: Experimental Setting (Trier Social Stress Test TSST); Test Anxiety

Treatments: Device: Acupuncture; Device: Laser Acupuncture

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT02142231

AcuTA

Details and patient eligibility

About

Test anxiety is a well-known phenomenon in general population, but only few scientific advances have been made in order to fully understand and prevent this circumstance.

The number of students which use neuro enhancement to improve their performance and to prevent test anxiety, is increasing. A US-survey estimated that almost 7% of students in US universities have used prescription stimulants against anxiety, and that on some campuses, up to 25% of students had used them in the past year.

Acupuncture might act as an alternate. Several trials could demonstrate, that different forms of acupuncture could relieve symptoms of pre-exam anxiety syndrome significantly and that this therapy was highly safe. In special, the investigation of single point effects in test anxiety could be of general interest. The acupuncture point with the most convincing evidence up to date is Heart 7. Yet, its effectiveness has mainly been chosen in combination with other acupuncture points and not as single remedy in test anxiety. Therefore we establish a trial investigating the immediate needling effects at Heart 7 on the reduction of test anxiety.

Therefore qe implemented a validated stress test, the Trier Social Stress Test TSST, which is known to provoke serious stress responses in healthy subjects. 24 medical students with test anxiety in there history will be randomised to two interventional groups (verum acupuncture and laser acupuncture), being treated and then pass this test. Main outcome is the increase of cortisol in saliva, which is the standardized measure of stress response used in this paradigm.

Enrollment: 25 patients

Sex: Male

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Test Anxiety in the clinical history
• Male medical students 3rd to 5th year
• Compliance
• Age > 18 years
• Smoking cessation for 24 hours

Exclusion criteria

• Severe physical or psychical illness
• Psychiatric record in medical history
• Continuous uptake of antipsychiatric medication, tranquilizers or neuro-enhancers
• Acupuncture treatment within the last 4 weeks
• Hang-over
• Drug consumption
• Smoking (> 5 cigarettes/ day)

Trial design

Primary purpose: Prevention

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Triple Blind

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25 participants in 2 patient groups, including a placebo group

Laser Acupuncture

Placebo Comparator group

Description:

Subjects and Therapists are blinded. Instead of a real Laser Acupuncture device (able to elicit physiologic responses) them is given a sham-laser device only radiating non-energetic red LED-light. Without palpation, therapists treat the acupoint Heart 7, on both wrists, each for 1 minute, with additional 18 minutes of resting time after.

Treatment:

Device: Laser Acupuncture

Acupuncture

Active Comparator group

Description:

Acupuncture at the acupoint Heart 7, on both wrists, each for 1 minute, eliciting a deqi-response, additional stimulation and total needle-in time of 20 minutes (2 minutes treatment and 18 minutes of resting time)

Treatment:

Device: Acupuncture