Visual Mismatch Negativity in Attention Bias Modifcation Treatment for Anxiety

Tel Aviv University

Status: Completed

Conditions: Generalized Anxiety Disorder; Social Anxiety Disorder

Treatments: Behavioral: ABMT

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT03016052

TAUvMMN

Details and patient eligibility

About

this study examines the emergence of the visual mismatch negativity (vMMN) ERP component in response to deviations from the embedded contingency in attention bias modification treatment (ABMT) for social and generalized anxiety, and the interaction between vMMN emergence and clinical improvement.

***As of September 2017, recruitment of SAD participants has concluded.

Full description

all participants, suffering from either social anxiety disorder or generalized anxiety disorder, will receive 6 sessions of ABMT, adapted for an oddball paradigm. two of the sessions will also include simultaneous EEG measurement. the goal of the study is to determine the emergence of vMMN in response to trials deviating the embedded contingency and to examine the correlation between vMMN emergence and clinical improvement of anxiety symptoms.

Enrollment: 80 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 65 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• A signed consent form
• Men and women between the ages of 18 and 65.
• Meeting a current diagnosis of Social Anxiety Disorder (SP) or Generalized Anxiety Disorder according to the DSM-IV
• SP/GAD as the primary diagnosis: In cases of co-morbidity, SP/GAD will be deemed as the most distressing and clinically significant condition among the co-morbid disorders.
• Stable pharmaco-therapy: Participants receiving a pharmacological treatment who are taking a stable medication for at least 3 months before the beginning of the procedure.

Exclusion criteria

• A diagnosis of psychotic or bipolar disorders.
• A diagnosis of a neurological disorder (i.e., epilepsy, brain injury).
• Drug or alcohol abuse.
• A pharmacological treatment that is not stabilized in the past 3 months.
• Another psychotherapeutic treatment.
• Change in treatment during the study.
• Poor judgment capacity (i.e., children under 18 and special populations).

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: N/A

Interventional model: Single Group Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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80 participants in 1 patient group

ABMT

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: ABMT