Neurological and Psychological Effects of Combat-Related Stress

Tel Aviv University

Status: Completed

Conditions: Stress Disorder, Posttraumatic; Stress, Psychological

Treatments: Other: Combat Exposure

Study type: Observational

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT04651192

TAUatm

Details and patient eligibility

About

The purpose of this study is to determine what is the neurological and cognitive impact of combat exposure and prolonged stress, in the form of service in the Israeli Defense Forces.

Full description

Attention biases in threat processing have been assigned a prominent role in the etiology and maintenance of anxiety disorders. This study aimed to characterize the mental resilience of combat soldiers, and explore the neuro-cognitive impact of prolonged stress, using eye-tracking, MRI and fMRI measurements. Participants will be assessed using questionnaires, cognitive tasks and magnetic imaging at 5 timepoints over the span of 4 years. Outcome measures will be depression, anxiety and post-traumatic scores, as well as dwell time on threat in eye-tracking paradigms tested in previous studies, and blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) signals in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measurements.

Enrollment: 100 patients

Sex: Male

Ages: 18 to 23 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Soldiers in the paratroopers brigade or students in Tel-Aviv University;
• A signed consent form;
• Hebrew native speakers.

Exclusion criteria

• A diagnosis of a neurological disorder (i.e., epilepsy, brain injury);
• Drug or alcohol abuse;
• Cannot undergo an MRI scan, due to metal implants or other metallic foreign bodies, claustrophobia, large tattoos or irremovable piercings;
• Require glasses with a number greater than 7;
• A diagnosis of psychotic or bipolar disorders.

Trial design

100 participants in 2 patient groups

Soldiers

Description:

50 Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) infantry soldiers, all male, aged 18 years, with Hebrew as the dominant language and no condition excluding an MRI scan.

Treatment:

Other: Combat Exposure

Students

Description:

50 Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) undergraduate students at Tel-Aviv University, all male, aged 18-19, with Hebrew as the dominant language and no condition excluding an MRI scan.