Gamma binaural beats, working memory and OCD symptoms (Hodhodi 2024)
Symptom severity was significantly reduced (P<0.05) at post-test and at one-month follow-up. Working-memory improvement was in the expected direction but not statistically significant (P>0.05).
The question: Do gamma binaural beats improve working memory and reduce symptom severity in women with obsessive-compulsive disorder?
| Type of study | Experiment |
|---|---|
| Who took part | 29 women with obsessive-compulsive disorder, aged 25–40 |
| What was done | Gamma-band binaural beats (15 women) or an audio file with no beat (14 women), 30 minutes per session, three times a week for two weeks. Symptom severity and digit-span memory were measured at post-test and one-month follow-up. |
| How much weight it carries | Preliminary |
What it found
- Obsessive-compulsive symptom severity (Yale-Brown scale) was significantly reduced by gamma binaural beats (P<0.05) at both post-test and follow-up.
- Working-memory (digit-span) improvement was in the expected direction but not statistically significant (P>0.05).
- The authors conclude gamma binaural beats may serve as a complementary, low-risk adjunct to standard treatment.
Limits
- Tiny single-site sample (n=29) drawn by convenience.
- Delivery was not blinded.
Where this sits
More in the library on attention, memory and thinking. For the wider picture, read Binaural beats for focus and studying.
This is our plain-language reading of the paper. It is not medical advice, and one study rarely settles a question.
Sources
- Hodhodi, Z., Pyvastegar, M., Hassani Abharian, P., Farah Bidjari, A., & Ahadi, B. (2024). The Effect of Brainwave Synchronization Using Binaural Beats on Improving Working Memory and Reducing the Severity of Symptoms in Women With Obsessive-compulsive Disorder. Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, 15(2), 233–246.