Neurofeedback Removal of Emotional Information From Mind (remtrain)

The University of Texas System (UT)

Status: Not yet enrolling

Conditions: Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI); Neurofeedback; Cognitive Training; Memory, Short-Term

Treatments: Other: fMRI neurofeedback

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT06460207

R01MH129042 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

R01MH129042_remtrain

Details and patient eligibility

About

This project will examine whether individuals can be trained, using real-time feedback about brain function during neuroimaging, to effectively remove thoughts from mind by providing them with a sense of what it feels like to successfully remove a thought.

Full description

On the first day, an anatomical MRI scan will be followed by a 12-min resting state scan, a 30-min item localizer task in which participants view a set of 80 scene stimuli 3 times each, and a 10-min memory test outside the scanner. The brain data from the localizer will be used to identify baseline measures of item-specific brain activity patterns. On 3 subsequent days (within the next 2 weeks), participants will receive neurofeedback training. In each 1-hr session, an anatomical scan will be followed by 8 runs (5 min each) of 20 trials, half with each operation, randomly ordered, and a 10-min behavioral memory test. In the scanner, participants will perform a working memory task in which they encode a scene image and then are instructed to either maintain that image in mind for a few seconds or to suppress that image from mind. At the end of each trial, neurofeedback will be provided to the participant visually to denote their "level of engagement" in the instructed operation on that trial. The neurofeedback is derived from the MRI classifier fit for the instructed operation (maintain or suppress) from a working memory operation classifier that is pre-trained on prior data. Participants (N=40) will be randomly assigned to either the positive or negative valence condition. They will encounter stimuli from their assigned valence only during the neuroimaging task, but from both valences during the behavioral tests, so that the investigators can evaluate whether any learning generalizes across emotional valence.

Enrollment: 40 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 40 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Right-handed
• Speak English fluently
• Minimum 8th grade education
• Good hearing
• Good vision or minimal correction with contacts or eyeglasses

Exclusion criteria

• History of significant illnesses (including cardiovascular disease, cancer, immunodeficiency disorders (including HIV infection)
• Diabetes
• Unstable endocrine disorders
• Neurological disorders
• Neuromuscular disorders
• Blood dyscrasias
• History of major psychiatric disorders (including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and dementia)
• Substance dependence
• History of head trauma with loss of consciousness
• Cerebrovascular accident
• Seizures
• Neurosurgical intervention
• Metal implants in the body (including pacemakers, neurostimulators, or other metal objects)
• Metal piercings that cannot be removed for the scan
• Women who are pregnant or who think they may be pregnant

Trial design

Primary purpose: Basic Science

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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40 participants in 2 patient groups

Positive stimuli neurofeedback

Experimental group

Description:

Participants will encounter only positive stimuli during the fMRI task but will be tested on both positive and negative valence stimuli during the behavioral memory tests.

Treatment:

Other: fMRI neurofeedback

Negative stimuli neurofeedback

Experimental group

Description:

Participants will encounter only negative stimuli during the fMRI task but will be tested on both positive and negative valence stimuli during the behavioral memory tests.

Treatment:

Other: fMRI neurofeedback