Neural Basis of the Effect of EMDR Therapy (EMDR-NEURO)

University of Rome Foro Italico

Status: Completed

Conditions: PTSD - Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Treatments: Behavioral: Butterfly Tapping (BT); Behavioral: No intervention control

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT07550556

URomeForoItalico

Details and patient eligibility

About

This study aimed to investigate the effects of a single session of Butterfly Tapping (BT), a self-administered form of alternating bilateral stimulation, on emotional reactivity and its neurophysiological correlates. 46 participants will be randomly assigned to an experimental (Exp) or control (Con) group. The Exp group performed a 15-minute session of BT. Emotional reactivity was assessed before and after the stimulation using a detection task with emotional visual stimuli, presented during electroencephalographic (EEG) recording. EEG analyses were conducted using the event-related potential (ERP) method, specifically focusing on the differential amplitude (negative minus neutral) of the Late Positive Potential (LPP), a centro-parietal component associated with sustained processing of emotionally salient stimuli. Results revealed a significant LPP reduction in the Exp group at T1 compared to T0, whereas no change emerged in the Con group. The topographical distribution of the modulation was predominantly central, consistent with models implicating the LPP in higher-order integrative and evaluative processes. These findings provide preliminary neurophysiological evidence that BT may reduce cortical reactivity to negative emotional stimuli in young clinical populations, supporting its potential as a simple and accessible strategy capable of modulating affective responsiveness.

Enrollment: 46 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• normal or corrected-to-normal vision; full right-handedness

Exclusion criteria

• neurological or other psychiatric disorders tha PTSD; current use of psychoactive medications.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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46 participants in 2 patient groups

Butterfly Tapping

Experimental group

Description:

Participants assigned to the Experimental Group (Exp) will perform a self-administered session of Butterfly Tapping (BT), a form of alternating bilateral tactile stimulation widely used in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)-derived affect-regulation techniques. This arm was designed to test whether rhythmic bilateral sensory input modulates neural indices of emotional reactivity.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Butterfly Tapping (BT)

No tapping (Control Group)

Sham Comparator group

Description:

Participants assigned to the Control Group will maintain the same posture as the experimental group but will not perform any tapping. This static condition controls for posture, context, expectancy, and emotional activation, isolating the specific effect of the bilateral stimulation.

Treatment:

Behavioral: No intervention control