Brown, G., Batra, K., et al. · Psychology · 2023
Both interventions led to a significant drop in SUD scores (from over 4 to about 1); no statistically significant differences in post-intervention SUD or HRV between AIT and EFT; a significantly higher proportion using AIT achieved full elimination of negative emotion with just one round (47.4% vs 14.7%, p=0.012).
This is a big deal because heart-rate variability is read straight off the body's own nervous system — it's not something a person can consciously will upward. Testing it in a tapping trial, rather than relying on how distressed someone says they feel, is exactly the kind of objective check that starts to answer whether tapping does something physiological, not just something people believe helped.
If EFT keeps performing on par with other rapid memory-focused techniques, it points toward people wanting quick relief from a specific painful memory — a breakup, a public failure, a scary moment — having more than one accessible option, letting them find whichever technique clicks for them. Tapping's edge among those options is that it can be self-administered from the start, so someone could try it the moment the memory surfaces rather than waiting to book a session.
HRV was already measured here and showed no difference between AIT and EFT, which raises rather than closes the interesting question — does more cumulative practice over many sessions eventually shift resting HRV, even if a single round processing one memory doesn't? Pairing HRV with cortisol or EEG frontal-asymmetry measures, and testing this in people processing chronic or complex trauma rather than a single recalled memory, would help clarify what's actually changing in the nervous system.
| Design | Randomized trial |
|---|---|
| Participants | 72 people |
| Population | college and professional students recalling a negative past memory |
| Comparison group | Advanced Integrative Therapy (AIT, n=38) vs EFT (n=34) |
| Outcome measures | Subjective Units of Distress (SUD) scale, Heart Rate Variability (HRV) |
| Journal | Psychology |
| Year | 2023 |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Method | EFT / tapping |
| Publication type | Study / trial |
| Verification | ✓ Confirmed against the primary source |
Brown, G., Batra, K., & et al. (2023). Comparing AIT and EFT in reduction of negative emotions associated with a past memory: A randomized control study. Psychology. https://doi.org/10.4236/psych.2023.1412111
This record is part of the Tapping Evidence Base — an openly-sourced, fully-referenced directory of the research on EFT/tapping. Explore more studies on PTSD & Trauma · Other Physical Conditions
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