Statistical Learning as a Predictor of Attention Bias Modification Outcome

Tel Aviv University

Status: Completed

Conditions: Social Anxiety Disorder

Treatments: Behavioral: ABM

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT03424967

TAU-SL

Details and patient eligibility

About

This study examines whether the ability to extract statistical properties from the environment among treatment-seeking patients with social anxiety disorder can predict therapeutic response to attention bias modification (ABM), namely, reduction in symptoms of social anxiety following ABM therapy.

Full description

All participants received 6 sessions of ABM therapy away from threat. At baseline participants also completed a gold standard statistical learning task aimed to assess participants' capacity for the extraction of statistical regularity from the environment. The aim of the study is to determine whether the basic ability to extract rules from the environment at baseline could predict clinical improvement of social anxiety symptoms.

Enrollment: 30 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 65 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• a signed consent form
• a primary diagnosis of social anxiety disorder
• an age of 18-65

Exclusion criteria

• any history or present diagnosis of psychosis
• high risk for harm to self or others
• concurrent posttraumatic stress disorder, eating disorder, or bipolar disorder
• a diagnosis of a neurological disorder (i.e., epilepsy, brain injury)
• drug or alcohol misuse
• a pharmacological treatment that is not stabilized in the past 3 months
• any concurrent psychotherapy

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: N/A

Interventional model: Single Group Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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30 participants in 1 patient group

ABM therapy

Experimental group

Description:

The attention bias modification treatment comprises of six computerized sessions, twice a week, in purpose of modulate biases in attention for threat stimuli.

Treatment:

Behavioral: ABM