Augmenting Exposure Therapy for Social Anxiety With Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation

Study Results

Results available

Outcome measurements, participant flow, baseline characteristics, and adverse events have been published for this study.

View full results

Basic Information

Get a concise snapshot of the trial, including recruitment status, study phase, enrollment targets, and key timeline milestones.

Recruitment Status

TERMINATED

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

33 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2019-04-02

Study Completion Date

2020-03-05

Brief Summary

Review the sponsor-provided synopsis that highlights what the study is about and why it is being conducted.

This study will examine whether transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) can be used to improve outcomes from exposure therapy for social anxiety disorder, and facilitate extinction of fear responding toward individuals outside one's own ethnic group (i.e., ethnic out-group members).

Related Clinical Trials

Explore similar clinical trials based on study characteristics and research focus.

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation and Fear Extinction

NCT03907917

Anxiety Disorders

COMPLETED NA

Exposure Therapy Consortium (ETC) for Anxiety Sensitivity

NCT05225740

Elevated Anxiety Sensitivity

COMPLETED NA

TDCS-Augmented Prolonged Exposure Therapy

NCT04327362

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder PTSD Anxiety +1 more

WITHDRAWN NA

Treatment of Social Phobia Over the Internet

NCT01312571

Social Phobia

COMPLETED NA

The Social Regulation of Threat-related Vigilance and Arousal

NCT05558527

Psychological Trauma, Historical Discrimination, Racial Emotion Regulation +3 more

NOT_YET_RECRUITING NA

Detailed Description

Dive into the extended narrative that explains the scientific background, objectives, and procedures in greater depth.

Although exposure therapy is among the most powerful treatment techniques for social anxiety, many individuals do not achieve full remission. Furthermore, some research suggests that fear responding toward ethnic out-group members may be more resistant to extinction. Enhancing activation of the mPFC during exposure therapy may improve overall response to treatment, and also facilitate extinction of fear toward ethic out-groups. Researchers have found that greater mPFC activation during exposure therapy is associated with better outcomes, and that transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) can be used enhance learning and cognition with no known serious adverse effects. This study will therefore examine whether active/anodal (versus sham) tDCS targeting the mPFC (a) enhances overall reductions in social anxiety symptoms, and (b) facilitates extinction of fear responding toward ethnic/racial out-groups for both Latino and Caucasian/non-Latino participants. Participants will receive either active/anodal tDCS or sham tDCS during a brief exposure therapy intervention involving public speaking in a Virtual Reality (VR) environment. The public speaking audience in the VR environment will alternate between audiences that are either matched or unmatched to the participant's ethnicity (in a randomly assigned order). Participants' fear reactivity will be assessed with behavioral, physiological, and subjective measures at baseline, post-treatment, and follow-up.

Conditions

See the medical conditions and disease areas that this research is targeting or investigating.

Social Anxiety

Study Design

Understand how the trial is structured, including allocation methods, masking strategies, primary purpose, and other design elements.

Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Participants will be randomly assigned to receive either sham or anodal (2 mA) tDCS targeting the mPFC during exposure therapy for public speaking anxiety.

Primary Study Purpose

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

DOUBLE

Participants Caregivers

Study Groups

Review each arm or cohort in the study, along with the interventions and objectives associated with them.

anodal tDCS during exposure

anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (2mA) will be applied over EEG coordinate FpZ to target mPFC activation during exposure therapy

Group Type ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

transcranial direct current stimulation

Intervention Type DEVICE

tDCS will be applied over EEG coordinate FpZ to target mPFC activation during exposure therapy

exposure therapy

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

participants will complete one session of exposure therapy for fear of public speaking, which will involve providing speeches to audiences in virtual reality

sham tDCS during exposure

sham transcranial direct current stimulation will be applied over EEG coordinate FpZ during exposure therapy at a level that provides the physical sensations of tDCS but which is non-therapeutic

Group Type SHAM_COMPARATOR

transcranial direct current stimulation

Intervention Type DEVICE

tDCS will be applied over EEG coordinate FpZ to target mPFC activation during exposure therapy

exposure therapy

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

participants will complete one session of exposure therapy for fear of public speaking, which will involve providing speeches to audiences in virtual reality

Interventions

Learn about the drugs, procedures, or behavioral strategies being tested and how they are applied within this trial.

transcranial direct current stimulation

tDCS will be applied over EEG coordinate FpZ to target mPFC activation during exposure therapy

Intervention Type DEVICE

exposure therapy

participants will complete one session of exposure therapy for fear of public speaking, which will involve providing speeches to audiences in virtual reality

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

Check the participation requirements, including inclusion and exclusion rules, age limits, and whether healthy volunteers are accepted.

Inclusion Criteria

* Age 18 or older (adult)
* Enrolled in higher education (post-high school)
* Elevated public speaking anxiety as indicated by self-report questions
* NOT currently receiving in exposure therapy for social anxiety

Exclusion Criteria

* History of seizure or any other neurological diagnosis
* Has any metal in their skull (plates, steel sutures, etc.)
* Participant is currently taking anti-convulsant, sedative/hypnotic, or antipsychotic medications
* Participant is pregnant
* Participant has already participated in a prior tDCS/tACS study on the same day as study visit 1 (which will involve either placebo or active/anodal tDCS stimulation)

Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No