Assessing the Effects of a Neurobehavioral Intervention on Symptoms of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

NCT ID: NCT01414023

Last Updated: 2020-05-18

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 48 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2011-07-31
• Study Completion Date: 2012-07-31

Brief Summary

This experiment will examine if the use of computerized tasks that train individuals to control their attention more effectively will predict individual differences in obsessive-compulsive symptoms, rumination and BDNF change. After giving consent, filling out self-report forms, and giving blood for the BDNF test, 80 participants will be randomized to Cognitive Control Training (CCT) or Peripheral Vision Task (PVT) (described below) which will be administered three times over a two week period. At the third visit, participants will also complete an anagram task and repeat the blood draw for BDNF testing. The investigators hypothesize that computerized tasks that train individuals to control their attention more effectively will reduce Obsessive Compulsive (OC) symptoms. Additionally, individuals training in CCT will show increased ability to disengage from unattainable goals as assessed by responses to an unsolvable anagram task. Finally, individuals training in CCT will show a greater increase in BDNF levels as compared to individuals training in PVT.

Conditions

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: SINGLE_GROUP
• Primary Study Purpose: TREATMENT
• Blinding Strategy: SINGLE

Study Groups

CCT

Cognitive Control Training - Pace Auditory Serial Addition Task (PASAT;(Gronwall, 1977): A computer version of the PASAT will be used to measure sustained attention and working memory. Participants are asked to add serially presented numbers. Attention Control Intervention (Wells, 2000): This task involves training individuals to attend differentially to multiple auditory sources (e.g., by counting tones, discriminating the location of tones, and moving their attention between auditory sources for a prolonged period).

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Cognitive Control Training

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Pace Auditory Serial Addition Task (PASAT;(Gronwall, 1977): A computer version of the PASAT will be used to measure sustained attention and working memory. Participants are asked to add serially presented numbers. Attention Control Intervention (Wells, 2000): This task involves training individuals to attend differentially to multiple auditory sources (e.g., by counting tones, discriminating the location of tones, and moving their attention between auditory sources for a prolonged period).

PVT

Peripheral Vision Task (PVT; C. Moore, personal communication): This task serves as a non-active control condition which does not target the brain regions influenced by the Wells and PASAT tasks. Participants focus on the placement of dots on a computer screen in this task while listening to a tone.

Group Type: PLACEBO_COMPARATOR

Peripheral Vision Task

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Peripheral Vision Task (PVT; C. Moore, personal communication): This task serves as a non-active control condition which does not target the brain regions influenced by the Wells and PASAT tasks. Participants focus on the placement of dots on a computer screen in this task while listening to a tone.

Interventions

Cognitive Control Training

Pace Auditory Serial Addition Task (PASAT;(Gronwall, 1977): A computer version of the PASAT will be used to measure sustained attention and working memory. Participants are asked to add serially presented numbers. Attention Control Intervention (Wells, 2000): This task involves training individuals to attend differentially to multiple auditory sources (e.g., by counting tones, discriminating the location of tones, and moving their attention between auditory sources for a prolonged period).

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Peripheral Vision Task

Peripheral Vision Task (PVT; C. Moore, personal communication): This task serves as a non-active control condition which does not target the brain regions influenced by the Wells and PASAT tasks. Participants focus on the placement of dots on a computer screen in this task while listening to a tone.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Adults ages 18-65 years
• OCI-R total score ≥ 16
• Ability to read and provide informed consent.
• Familiarity with a computer keyboard and mouse.

Exclusion Criteria

• BDI-II suicidality score of > 1

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 65 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

Boston University Charles River Campus

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Responsibility Role: SPONSOR

Locations

Boston University

Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Countries

United States

Other Identifiers

NCT01414023

Identifier Type: REGISTRY

Identifier Source: secondary_id

BU-2487

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id