Threat Reversal Abnormality in Patients With Anxiety Disorders

Launched by SHENZHEN KANGNING HOSPITAL · Jan 28, 2024

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

This clinical trial, titled "Threat Reversal Abnormality in Patients With Anxiety Disorders," is studying how people with anxiety disorders, especially generalized anxiety disorder, respond to threats and how their brains process these threats. Researchers believe that individuals with anxiety may struggle more than healthy individuals when it comes to recognizing and managing threats. They also want to investigate how certain areas of the brain, like the prefrontal cortex and amygdala, are involved in this process. The trial aims to see if stimulating these brain areas can help improve both how patients handle threats and their overall anxiety symptoms.

To participate, individuals must be diagnosed with an anxiety disorder by a psychiatrist. Healthy participants are also welcome, but they need to meet specific health criteria, such as not having any serious medical conditions or mental disorders. Participants should expect to undergo assessments that will explore their responses to threats and may receive brain stimulation as part of the study. It's important to note that the trial is not yet recruiting participants, so there will be no immediate need to apply.

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• Inclusion Criteria for patient participants:
• • Clinical diagnosis of anxiety disorders (by psychiatrists using the structured clinical interview for DSM-IV-TR (SCID) with reference to the diagnostic criteria for GAD according to the ICD-10)
• Exclusion Criteria for patient participants:
• • 1. A history of serious cardiovascular, cerebrovascular diseases, stroke, or other neurological disorders, a history of gastrointestinal diseases.
• • 2. Severe hearing or vision impairments.
• • 3. Metallic implants in the body, such as non-removable dentures, stents, metal plates, joint metal replacements, etc.
• • 4. Claustrophobia.
• • 5. Acute or chronic diseases or infections.
• • 6. Pregnancy or breastfeeding.
• • 7. Smoking or drinking alcohol within 24 hours before the experiment.
• • 8. Previous participation in similar experiments conducted by this institution.
• Inclusion Criteria for healthy control participants:
• • 1. No physical diseases or mental disorders.
• • 2. No claustrophobia.
• • 3. No hereditary diseases.
• • 4. No medication history or smoking history.
• • 5. Females not pregnant and not in their menstrual period.
• • 6. Normal vision or corrected vision, no smoking, drinking alcohol, or taking medication within 24 hours prior to the experiment.
• • 7. No previous participation in similar experiments.