EEG-Guided Binaural Beat Audio to Reduce Performance-Related Stress and Improve Cognition

Part of paid clinical trials in Lubbock, Texas.

Sponsor
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center
Study ID
NCT07407426
Status
Not Yet Recruiting

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Conditions

  • Cognitive Abilities
  • Cognitive Performance
  • Performance
  • Stress

Eligibility Criteria

Sex
ALL
Age
18 Years - N/A
Healthy Volunteers
Accepted

Interventions

  • EEG-guided binaural beat audio — OTHER
    30-minute session delivered via headphones; proprietary algorithm uses real-time single-electrode EEG from the left prefrontal cortex to dynamically adjust binaural beat frequencies.
  • Non-binaural audio intervention — OTHER
    30-minute session of music without frequency differences between ears (non-binaural), delivered via identical headphones; blinding maintained.

Study Details

Performance-related stress can impair sustained attention, inhibitory control, and memory. This randomized, double-blinded, sham-controlled parallel-arm trial evaluates whether a 30-minute EEG-guided binaural beat audio intervention reduces subjective stress/performance anxiety and improves cognition, and whether it changes task-related brain reactivity measured by fMRI. The intervention uses real-time single-electrode EEG recorded over the left prefrontal cortex to dynamically adjust binaural beat frequencies to guide the brain toward a target state; the sham condition uses non-binaural music delivered through identical headphones. Adult music majors preparing for an upcoming concert will complete pre- and post-intervention fMRI sessions during cognitive/music tasks (Stop Signal Reaction Task, Music Reading Task, Music Memory Retrieval Task) and complete visual analog scales (VAS) assessing performance anxiety, stress, and related subjective states. The primary outcomes include fMRI task-related activity in stress-regulation regions (dlPFC, amygdala, hippocampus), behavioral inhibition indices from the stop-signal task, music memory retrieval accuracy, and VAS-reported stress/performance anxiety.

Key Dates

Start date
Apr 7, 2026
Status verified
Feb 2026
Primary completion
May 31, 2026
Completion
Aug 30, 2026

Study Design

Enrollment
32 participants (estimated)
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
OTHER

Arms

  • Experimental: EEG-guided binaural beat audio
    30-minute session delivered via headphones; proprietary algorithm uses real-time single-electrode EEG from the left prefrontal cortex to dynamically adjust binaural beat frequencies.
  • Sham Comparator: non-binaural audio
    30-minute session of music without frequency differences between ears (non-binaural), delivered via identical headphones; blinding maintained.

Primary Outcome Measure

Differences in fMRI blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) responses of the brain in response to Stop Signals of a Stop Signal Reaction Time (SSRT) recorded following administration of each intervention and sham control. [ Time Frame: Baseline (immediately prior to 30-minute intervention/control audio session) and immediately post-intervention/control audio session (within 30 minutes after completion of session). ]

Central Contacts

Locations (1)

FacilityCityStateZIPSite coordinators
Texas Tech UniversityLubbockTexas79430
Chathurika S Dhanasekara, MD, PhD
[email protected]
806 743 2378
Chanaka N Kahathuduwa, MD, PhD
[email protected]
806 412 9974
Chathurika S Dhanasekara, MD, PhD (PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR)

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Texas Tech University· Lubbock, TX

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