New MRI-Guided brain zaps aim to ease anxiety in days

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion Criteria: * Outpatients or inpatients at the Second Xiangya Hospital who are confirmed by two experienced psychiatrists to meet the International Classification of Diseases 11th Revision (ICD-11) diagnostic criteria for generalized anxiety disorder. * Aged 18 to 65 years, regardless of gender. * Right-handed. * Junior high school education or above, with the ability to provide informed consent and complete cognitive assessments. * Able to receive anti-anxiety treatment during the follow-up period according to the instructions of outpatient or inpatient physicians. * Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAMA) score ≥14 and Patient Health Questionnaire-15 (PHQ-15) score ≥5. Exclusion Criteria: * Presence of psychotic symptoms. * Diagnosis of schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, schizophreniform disorder, delusional disorder, current psychiatric symptoms, or post-traumatic stress disorder based on SCID-5 assessment, either currently or within the past year. * Organic brain disease or severe somatic diseases, such as thyroid disease, lupus, diabetes, lung disease, liver disease, kidney disease, infection, or major trauma. * Intracranial implants. * Clinically significant sensory impairments that cannot be corrected, such as color blindness or hearing impairment. * Pregnant or breastfeeding women. * Positive urine drug screen. * Abnormal thyroid function tests. * Personal history of epilepsy or family history of epilepsy. * Receipt of physical therapy within the past six months, such as repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation or electroconvulsive therapy. * Suspected or confirmed history of alcohol or drug dependence. * Use of anticoagulants, such as heparin or warfarin, corticosteroids, or thyroid disease treatments within the past three months. * Current use of psychoactive medications. * Receipt of neurocognitive assessments similar to those used in this study within the past 12 months.