The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
The application of bilateral alternating stimulation in tactile (BLAST) form technology, a non-invasive, somatosensory-based method, has been shown to modulate the electrical activity of brain networks that mediate the stress response, resulting in a stress-reducing effect in individuals with high reported levels of anxiety, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In this study, we examined archival data from a heterogeneous group of users (n = 1109) of BLAST technology via Touchpoints, a novel BLAST-based treatment modality, all of whom had high self-reported levels of stress and anxiety. Ratings of levels of emotional stress and bodily distress on a scale of 0 (no stress/distress) to 10 (worst stress/distress of one's life) before and after the application of Touchpoints for 30 seconds were entered into an app. Results showed a statistically significant reduction in the levels of both emotional stress and bodily distress, 62.26% and 50.502%, respectively, after 30 seconds of BLAST technology was applied. This demonstrates a clear benefit of BLAST on the stress response, reducing both emotional stress and disturbing body sensations. Recent work examining EEG changes after BLAST technology is applied suggests that BLAST may reduce sympathetic activation by reducing the electrical activity of key areas of the salience network. Further work will more precisely characterize the effects of BLAST, its potential clinical uses, and the mechanisms of actions behind it’s apparent stress-reducing effects.
Recent advances in neuroscience have allowed us to more clearly identify which parts of the human brain mediate particular behaviors or emotional states. With advances in medical imaging, we can identify structural and functional networks in the living human brain that are active during a specific task. We can also modulate these networks to produce changes in behavior or mood and achieve better therapeutic outcomes.
One particular method of changing the activity of certain brain networks associated with stress and anxiety is through a non-invasive somatosensory-based methodology, called Bilateral Alternating Stimulation in Tactile (BLAST) Form technology. Studies have shown that this therapeutic modality can aid in altering various brain functions and might be of therapeutic benefit to individuals with high or pathological levels of anxiety or stress
Of considerable interest is the effect of BLAST on the amygdala and its associated networks, given how closely they are linked to feelings of anxiety and stress. An electroencephalogram (EEG) is a non-invasive form of data collection, which evaluates electrical activity in the brain and tracks brain wave patterns. An EEG study by Harper et al., 2009 on subjects with PTSD found that BLAST had a de-potentiation effect on those synapses in the amygdala that are active during the recall of fear-based memories
In particular, the amygdala (and, to a lesser extent, the insula) has been identified as part of the salience network, which is thought to modulate the brain's reaction to stress and create an appropriate behavioral response
These findings motivated us to examine archival data to quantify the effects of BLAST technology to consumers setting for individuals who report high levels of stress and disturbing body sensations. Specifically to determine whether the somatosensory application of BLAST can effectively reduce subjective ratings of stress and related physiological body sensations. In this paper, we look at the effect of BLAST on the emotional and physical manifestations of the stress response in individuals before and after treatment with Touchpoints, a novel BLAST-based treatment modality.
Subjective ratings of emotional stress level and physical sensations of bodily distress were submitted through a software app by 1109 subjects, adults aged 21-47, who purchased Touchpoints commercially. Individuals were asked to rate their levels of emotional stress and bodily distress on a scale of 0 (no stress/distress) - 10 (worst stress/distress of their lives), before and after using Touchpoints for 30 seconds and submit their answers through the provided software app.
We employed a paired t-test to assess the likelihood that the null hypothesis is valid (i.e. that the mean difference of the experimental and control groups are actually calculated from two samples of the same single population). The test statistic, T, was calculated as follows:
where SE(d) is the standard error of the mean of the difference between the paired values, d=
for n total pairs and are the two observations of the ith pair and is defined as
where sd is the sample standard deviation of the mean of the difference between the n paired values.
The degrees of freedom corresponding to this test statistic, df, are defined as (df = (n – 1) = 1108). A p-value < 0.05 was taken to be statistically significant.
The average ratings from (0 no stress/distress – 10 worst stress/distress of subject's life) across 1109 subjects for emotional stress (
|
|
|
|
|
---|---|---|---|---|
|
7.65 | 2.89 | 5.21 | 2.58 |
Sd | 2.08 | 2.76 | 3.18 | 2.76 |
To determine whether these reductions in the stress response are statistically significant, the means of the paired difference of each subject’s rating of their level of stress/distress before and after using Touchpoints (BLAST) for 30 seconds were compared using a paired t-test. Results are shown below in
Emotional Stress | Bodily Stress | |
|
4.76 | 2.63 |
|
3.10 | 3.23 |
|
0.0931 | 0.0971 |
|
1108 | 1108 |
|
51.16 | 27.12 |
|
<0.0001 | <0.0001 |
Although BLAST has been used many times as a component of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy and many research studies have demonstrated significant changes in both subjective and objective metrics post-treatment with BLAST, it appears to be vastly underutilized as a method for inhibiting the body’s stress response
The results above show that a group of individuals (n = 1109) who used BLAST technology in Touchpoints for 30 seconds show a statistically significant reduction in their level of emotional stress and sensations of bodily distress (i.e. breathing difficulty, chest pain, stomach ache), demonstrating a clear benefit. Although BLAST was delivered for 30 seconds for purposes of collecting data, duration is often increased in clinical treatment settings. This clinical result is supported by recent work by our group (not presented here) showing significant quantitative EEG changes in subjects after application of BLAST in brain areas known to be part of the salience network (i.e. amygdala, insular cortex, and somatosensory cortex). It is postulated that the salience network is thought to modulate the brain’s reactivity to stress and to create appropriate behavioral responses to both internal and external sensory information
This study had some limitations. In particular, since the archival data was gathered through a software app without oversight or guidance, we cannot be sure how effectively or correctly the Touchpoints were used by each subject. In addition, subjects were not blinded to the treatment, so we cannot discount bias or belief. There were also no age/demographics matching across subjects and no exclusion criteria so we cannot be sure if our results are being altered by these factors or to what degree. To address these limitations, we are pursuing double-blind, placebo-controlled studies of the effect of BLAST on the stress response. Nevertheless, the above results are promising that BLAST and Touchpoints could be an effective therapeutic tool to reduce a pathological stress response, either by itself or as an adjunct to psychotherapy.
We showed that the application of BLAST using Touchpoints for 30 seconds resulted in a statistically significant reduction in a subject's levels of emotional stress and feelings of bodily distress. These results demonstrate a clear stress-reducing effect and suggest that BLAST may be an effective, non-invasive method for reducing stress and anxiety. Further work is needed to fully characterize this stress-reducing effect of BLAST and determine its therapeutic applications.