Binaural Beat Music Combined With Rhythmic Photic Stimulation on Depression

National Cheng Kung University

Status

Completed

Conditions

Depression

Treatments

Other: Sham group

Other: Binaural Beat Music (BBM) Combined with Rhythmic Photic Stimulation (RPS)

Study type

Interventional

Funder types

Other

Identifiers

NCT06540157

Asia0725

Details and patient eligibility

About

Background: Previous studies have suggested that non-pharmacological treatments, such as binaural beat music (BBM) and rhythmic photic stimulation (RPS), may help improve depressive symptoms and enhance quality of life. However, their effectiveness in elderly patients with depression remains unclear.

Objectives: This study aims to investigate the effects of combining BBM and RPS on improving depression, quality of life, and heart rate variability (HRV) in elderly patients with depression.

Methods: This study was conducted as a single-blind randomized controlled trial. Forty-eight elderly patients with depression were recruited from a long-term care institution in Taiwan and randomly assigned to either the BBM and RPS group or the Sham group. Participants received 20 minutes of intervention daily, Monday to Friday, for 12 consecutive weeks. During the intervention, participants in the BBM and RPS group listened to 10Hz BBM (embedded with classic old songs) and wore RPS glasses that provided 10Hz light stimulation. In contrast, participants in the Sham group listened to classic old songs and wore RPS glasses without the 10Hz light stimulation.

Enrollment

48 patients

Sex

All

Ages

65 to 90 years old

Volunteers

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria for this study were:

A) Diagnosed with major depressive disorder by a psychiatrist and stable for more than six months; B) Aged 65 and above; C) No cognitive impairment, with a Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score above 24 and able to understand the questionnaire content; D) No severe physical illnesses and no significant hearing impairments; E) Not using antidepressants within three months before and during the intervention.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria included:

A) History of mixed psychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and dementia; B) Experiencing acute illness (or pain) and unstable physiological conditions; C) History of epilepsy or potential for seizures; D) Substance abuse; E) Participation in electroconvulsive therapy or transcranial electrical stimulation within one month before and during the intervention.