Auricular Stimulation vs. Expressive Writing for Exam Anxiety

Title of the study: Auricular acupuncture (AA) vs. expressive writing for pre-exam anxiety - a randomised crossover study Study period: 04 / 2014 - 07 / 2014 Principal Investigator: Prof. Dr. T. Usichenko Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine University Medicine of Greifswald Aim of the study: To investigate the anxiolytic effect of AA vs. expressive writing and vs. no intervention in students, passing the oral exams in anatomy at the University of Greifswald Design: Prospective randomised crossover trial Interventions: 1. AA using indwelling fixed needles, retained 24 h in situ 2. Expressive writing Number of volunteers: N = 40 Healthy medical students at the University of Greifswald Participants of the anatomy exams in spring/summer 2014 Without previous anxiolytic, sedative and analgesic medication No pregnancy or lactating Informed consent Outcome measures: Anxiety level Heart rate, blood pressure Salivary α-amylase