Study Results
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View full resultsBasic Information
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COMPLETED
NA
1418 participants
INTERVENTIONAL
2001-01-10
2022-07-28
Brief Summary
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When confronted with fearful or unpleasant events, people can develop fear of specific cues that were associated with these events as well as to the environmental context in which the events occurred via a process called classical conditioning. Classical conditioning has been used to model anxiety disorders, but the relationship between stress and anxiety and conditioned responses remains unclear. This study will examine the relationship between cued conditioning and context conditioning . This study will also explore the acquisition and retention of different types of motor, emotional, and cognitive associative processes during various tasks that range from mildly arousing to stressful.
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Detailed Description
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Study population: This more-than-minimal-risk protocol will test medically and psychiatrically healthy volunteers aged 18-50. Pregnant or nursing women will be excluded.
Method: Fear and anxiety will be measured using the startle reflex to brief and loud sounds. Fear conditioning will be assessed using shock as unconditioned stimulus. Cognitive performance will be examined during periods of unpredictable shock anticipation.
Outcome measures: The study will include cognitive performance and measure of aversive states, primarily the startle reflex.
Conditions
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Study Design
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NA
SINGLE_GROUP
BASIC_SCIENCE
NONE
Study Groups
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Healthy volunteers
Sub-study A: Working memory task / Participant performed a working memory task in two conditions, under threat of shock and in safety and asked to remember verbal and nonverbal stimuli from the current stimulus on the screen (N-back task) Sub-study C: Sustained attention to response task (SART) / participant was presented with stimuli and either initiated a response (i.e. "go") or inhibited their response (i.e. "stop") based on what stimuli were presented Sub-study D: Stroop task/ In the classic Stroop test, the name of a color is printed in a color that conflicts or does not conflict with the word. In the emotional Stroop, the words emotional words. The participant's task was to name the color of the word Pilot studies / (1) Shocks were delivered via electrodes located on the forearm or fingers while participant performed a working memory or vigilance task or (2) Subject performed cognitive tasks during alternating safe and threat periods
Shock Device
Shock Device
Auditory Startle Device
Auditory Startle Device
Interventions
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Shock Device
Shock Device
Auditory Startle Device
Auditory Startle Device
Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria
* Age 18-50
Exclusion Criteria
* Any current ongoing medical illness
* Current Axis I disorders
* Past significant psychiatric disorders (e.g., psychotic disorders) according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM)-IV
* Current alcohol or substance abuse according to DSM-IV criteria
* History of alcohol or substance dependence based on DSM-IV criteria within 6 months prior to screening
* Current psychotropic medication use
* Current or past organic central nervous system disorders, including but not limited to seizure disorder or neurological symptoms of the wrist and arms (e.g., carpal tunnel syndrome). The latter exclusion is for shock studies only.
* Positive urine toxicology screen
* Employees of National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) or an immediate family member of a NIMH employee.
18 Years
50 Years
ALL
Yes
Sponsors
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National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
NIH
Responsible Party
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Principal Investigators
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Maryland Pao, M.D.
Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Locations
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National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, 9000 Rockville Pike
Bethesda, Maryland, United States
Countries
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References
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Grillon C, Morgan CA 3rd. Fear-potentiated startle conditioning to explicit and contextual cues in Gulf War veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder. J Abnorm Psychol. 1999 Feb;108(1):134-42. doi: 10.1037//0021-843x.108.1.134.
Grillon C, Ameli R, Goddard A, Woods SW, Davis M. Baseline and fear-potentiated startle in panic disorder patients. Biol Psychiatry. 1994 Apr 1;35(7):431-9. doi: 10.1016/0006-3223(94)90040-x.
Phillips RG, LeDoux JE. Differential contribution of amygdala and hippocampus to cued and contextual fear conditioning. Behav Neurosci. 1992 Apr;106(2):274-85. doi: 10.1037//0735-7044.106.2.274.
Balderston NL, Liu J, Roberson-Nay R, Ernst M, Grillon C. The relationship between dlPFC activity during unpredictable threat and CO2-induced panic symptoms. Transl Psychiatry. 2017 Nov 30;7(12):1266. doi: 10.1038/s41398-017-0006-5.
Grillon C, Robinson OJ, Krimsky M, O'Connell K, Alvarez G, Ernst M. Anxiety-mediated facilitation of behavioral inhibition: Threat processing and defensive reactivity during a go/no-go task. Emotion. 2017 Mar;17(2):259-266. doi: 10.1037/emo0000214. Epub 2016 Sep 19.
Grillon C, Robinson OJ, Mathur A, Ernst M. Effect of attention control on sustained attention during induced anxiety. Cogn Emot. 2016;30(4):700-12. doi: 10.1080/02699931.2015.1024614. Epub 2015 Apr 22.
Lago TR, Hsiung A, Leitner BP, Duckworth CJ, Balderston NL, Chen KY, Grillon C, Ernst M. Exercise modulates the interaction between cognition and anxiety in humans. Cogn Emot. 2019 Jun;33(4):863-870. doi: 10.1080/02699931.2018.1500445. Epub 2018 Jul 23.
Roxburgh AD, White DJ, Grillon C, Cornwell BR. A neural oscillatory signature of sustained anxiety. Cogn Affect Behav Neurosci. 2023 Dec;23(6):1534-1544. doi: 10.3758/s13415-023-01132-1. Epub 2023 Oct 25.
Grillon C, Ernst M. A way forward for anxiolytic drug development: Testing candidate anxiolytics with anxiety-potentiated startle in healthy humans. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2020 Dec;119:348-354. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.09.024. Epub 2020 Oct 7.
Grillon C, Lago T, Stahl S, Beale A, Balderston N, Ernst M. Better cognitive efficiency is associated with increased experimental anxiety. Psychophysiology. 2020 Aug;57(8):e13559. doi: 10.1111/psyp.13559. Epub 2020 Mar 17.
Sarigiannidis I, Grillon C, Ernst M, Roiser JP, Robinson OJ. Anxiety makes time pass quicker while fear has no effect. Cognition. 2020 Apr;197:104116. doi: 10.1016/j.cognition.2019.104116. Epub 2019 Dec 26.
Robinson OJ, Pike AC, Cornwell B, Grillon C. The translational neural circuitry of anxiety. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2019 Dec;90(12):1353-1360. doi: 10.1136/jnnp-2019-321400. Epub 2019 Jun 29.
Balderston NL, Hsiung A, Liu J, Ernst M, Grillon C. Reducing State Anxiety Using Working Memory Maintenance. J Vis Exp. 2017 Jul 19;(125):55727. doi: 10.3791/55727.
Lago T, Davis A, Grillon C, Ernst M. Striatum on the anxiety map: Small detours into adolescence. Brain Res. 2017 Jan 1;1654(Pt B):177-184. doi: 10.1016/j.brainres.2016.06.006. Epub 2016 Jun 6.
Provided Documents
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Document Type: Study Protocol and Statistical Analysis Plan
Related Links
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NIH Clinical Center Detailed Web Page
Other Identifiers
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01-M-0185
Identifier Type: -
Identifier Source: secondary_id
010185
Identifier Type: -
Identifier Source: org_study_id
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