Brain stimulation review reports lower acute cortisol responses to stress
A pooled analysis in healthy participants measured cortisol, so it cannot establish relief from stress symptoms or treatment benefits for psychiatric conditions.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
Across randomized trials, the review found a lower acute cortisol response to stress with noninvasive brain stimulation. That finding concerns a hormone measurement in healthy people. It does not establish that participants felt less stressed, that the change lasted, or that the approach improves symptoms in people with psychiatric disorders.
This abstract-based summary lacks details on control conditions, stimulation protocols and study durations. Cortisol is a measured biological response, so a lower value alone does not demonstrate a clinical benefit.
What the pooled result measured
The authors combined trial results using a model that allows effects to differ across studies. Sensitivity analyses supported the pooled finding, and no publication bias was detected; the abstract does not report changes in stress symptoms.
Subgroup patterns need context
Subgroup analyses suggested larger cortisol changes with magnetic stimulation, with stimulation before or after the stressor, and in female participants. The abstract does not provide subgroup estimates that would establish a preferred protocol.
The original publication
Effects of non-invasive prefrontal neuromodulation on acute cortisol response to stress: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Wang Q, Wang Y, Bao H et al.
Behav Brain Res · 2026
- PubMed ID
- 41207482
- Record checked
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