De Lima et al. (86) (2019) | 5 consecutive days | 1 wk | ANOVA repeated-measures | Anxiety and depression symptoms did not differ between real and sham tDCS. Physical symptoms of stress were reduced at the end of treatment and at follow-up in the tDCS group v. the sham group | None | Anxiety: BAI Global evaluation: PANAS |
Deppermann et al. (115) (2014) | 5 daily sessions; 3 wk | NR | ANOVA repeated-measures | No differences in real v. sham rTMS. Both groups showed improvement in anxiety symptoms post-iTBS v. baseline | Healthy controls; only for fNIRS | Physiological: CAQ Brain activation: fNIRS Cognitive: verbal fluency |
Diefenbach et al. (116) (2016) | 5 daily sessions; 6 wk | 3 mo, 6 mo (only a subset not included in statistical analysis) | ANOVA repeated- measures; planned contrasts | Anxiety symptoms improved in post- v. pre- measurements in rTMS and sham groups that persisted at 3 mo follow-up only in the rTMS group. Worry and depressive symptoms improved only in the rTMS group at the end of treatment and at 3 mo follow-up. Brain activation increased after rTMS and tended to decrease after sham | None | Anxiety/mood: DASS-DEP Brain activation: fMRI during gambling task |
Dilkov et al. (87) (2017) | 6 wk; 5 sessions/wk for the first 4 wk; during the wk 5, sessions reduced to 3 times/wk; during wk 6, sessions reduced to 2 times/wk | 2 wk and 6 wk after the end of treatment | ANOVA repeated-measures | Anxiety and depressive symptoms improved in the stimulation v. sham condition at the end of treatment and the 2 follow-ups | None | Global evaluation: CGI |
Herrmann et al. (117) (2017) | 2 sessions | 3 mo | ANOVA repeated-measures; t test | 2 sessions of rTMS reduced anxiety and avoidance ratings compared to the sham group | None | Anxiety: AQ-avoidance subscale; BAT |
Huang et al. (118) (2018) | 10 consecutive days | 2 wk, 1 mo | ANOVA repeated- measures | Anxiety, insomnia and depressive symptoms improved in the rTMS group v. the sham group at the end of treatment and the 2 follow-ups | None | NR |
Mantovani et al. (119) (2013) | 5 d/wk; 4 wk double- blind + 4 weeks real* | 1, 3 and 6 mo | ANOVA repeated- measures; t test | 4 weeks rTMS v. sham: improvement in panic symptoms but not depression. 8 weeks of rTMS v. pre- treatment: improvement in panic and depressive symptoms, global assessment, and social adjustment | None | Anxiety: PDSS, PDSS-SR Mood: BDI; ZUNG-SAS Global evaluation: CGI; PGI; SASS |
Movahed et al. (120) (2018) | 4 wk | 2 mo | ANOVA repeated- measures | Worry, anxiety and depression scores were reduced after cathodal tDCS and pharmacotherapy v. sham tDCS. Pharmacotherapy was stronger than tDCS in reducing worry; tDCS was stronger in reducing depression. Anxiety symptoms did not differ after cathodal tDCS compared to pharmacotherapy | Pharmacotherapy | NR |
Nasiri et al. (121) (2020) | 10 daily sessions; 2 wk | 3 mo | MANCOVA | Worry, anxiety and anxiety sensitivity improved after UP + tDCS v. UP alone at the end of treatment and at follow-up | Waiting list | Anxiety: ASI; IUS; PSWQ |
Notzon et al. (88) (2015) | Single session | NR | ANOVA repeated- measures | iTBS increased sympathetic activity during the spider scene in both phobic and healthy participants | Healthy controls (real and sham) | Anxiety: FSQ; ASI Global evaluation: IPQ; SUDS; DS Physiological: HR; SCL Brain activation: fNIRS |
Prasko et al. (122) (2007) | 5 daily sessions; 2 wk | 2 wk | Nonparametric repeated- measures ANOVA | Anxiety symptoms and psychopathology global scores improved after both real and sham rTMS | None | Anxiety: BAI Global evaluation: CGI |