Received: 21 September 2017 Revised: 9 December 2018 Accepted: 14 December 2018 DOI: 10.1002/ptr.6286 RESEARCH ARTICLE Valerian extract alters functional brain connectivity: A randomized double‐blind placebo‐controlled trial Daeyoung Roh1,2 | Jae Hoon Jung1,2 | Kyung Hee Yoon1 | Chang Hyun Lee1,2 | Lee Young Kang1,2 | Sang‐Kyu Lee1,2 | Kitack Shin1 | Do Hoon Kim1,2 1 Department of Psychiatry, Hallym University College of Medicine, Chuncheon, Korea Valerian root is the most commonly used herbal supplement for sedation and 2 Mind‐neuromodulation Laboratory, Hallym anxiolysis, but it is unknown whether it may affect functional brain connectivity. University College of Medicine, Chuncheon, Korea Our goal was to use electroencephalography (EEG) to investigate whether valerian Correspondence root extract (VRE) affects resting‐state connectivity changes and whether such Do Hoon Kim, MD, PhD, Department of changes are associated with clinical symptoms. This 4‐week, double‐blinded, random- Psychiatry, Hallym University College of Medicine, Chuncheon Sacred Heart Hospital, ized, placebo‐controlled clinical trial was conducted with 64 nonclinical volunteers ‐ ‐ 77 Sakju ro, Chuncheon, Gangwon Do 24253, suffering psychological stress. The participants received VRE (100 mg) or a placebo Korea. Email:
[email protected] thrice daily. We examined VRE's therapeutic effects on anxiety and stress‐related Funding information psychological constructs. Functional brain connectivity changes were measured as High Value‐added Food Technology Develop- EEG coherence in the alpha and theta frequency bands. The VRE and placebo groups ment Program, Ministry for Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Republic of Korea, Grant/ both exhibited significant postintervention improvements on all clinical scales, but no Award Number: 111118‐032‐HD110; significant between‐group differences in these changes were noted.