VR Assessment for Alcohol Related Brain Damage

NCT ID: NCT03826238

Last Updated: 2021-05-03

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

UNKNOWN

Total Enrollment

30 participants

Study Classification

OBSERVATIONAL

Study Start Date

2021-05-01

Study Completion Date

2022-04-30

Brief Summary

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Pilot study where 10 alcohol-related brain damage (ARBD) patients will undergo a 30-minutes-long cognitive assessment session using the Validation Gate task to evaluate usability of this tool in Alcohol Use Disorder patients. Resting-state EEG of ARBD patients will also be recorded and compared to the ones of age-matched healthy people in order to preliminary explore the existence of possible EEG biomarkers of ARBD.

Detailed Description

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Much of the burden of disease related to harmful alcohol use is due to the persistent effects of alcohol on central nervous system. The concept of alcohol-related brain damage (ARBD) is important in the Addiction Psychiatry field. ARBD is a spectrum of disorders. Besides most severe forms, 50-70% of patients with alcohol use disorder suffer some kind of cognitive impairment, being mild to moderate cognitive impairment the most frequent disorders, and often the most difficult to detect. In alcoholic patients, greater cognitive impairment has been associated with less treatment compliance and fewer days of abstinence. Considering its impact, cognitive screening should be enhanced.

Recently, standard assessments have been augmented with new interactive technology. The work group of the Laboratory of Synthetic, Perceptive, Emotive and Cognitive Systems (SPECS), part of Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC), developed a virtual assessment of cognitive function, called the Validation Gate task, which evaluates sustained attention, working memory and executive functioning. This tool has been used so far in chronic stroke patients, showing that, in this group, depression symptoms affect performance in this task.

Similarly to chronic stroke patients, a diffuse harm of several cognitive domains in ARBD is observed. In the addiction psychiatry field, the gold standard to evaluate changes in cognitive function are still thorough neuropsychological test batteries. But performing thorough neuropsychological evaluations on all patients in daily clinical practice is highly resource consuming (need of expert neuropsychologists, time consuming). These last years scientific community has also been trying to find biomarkers of ARBD in electrophysiological tests, with no conclusive results.

In this pilot study a small number of ARBD patients and healthy people will undergo a single 30-minutes-long cognitive assessment session using the Validation Gate task to evaluate usability of this tool in Alcohol Use Disorder patients. Resting-state EEG of ARBD patients will also be recorded and compared to the ones of age-matched healthy controls in order to preliminary explore the existence of possible EEG biomarkers of ARBD.

Conditions

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Alcohol-Related Disorders

Study Design

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Observational Model Type

CASE_CONTROL

Study Time Perspective

CROSS_SECTIONAL

Study Groups

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ARBD and depression

10 patients with ARBD and at least moderate depressive symptoms (MoCA \< 26, Hamilton Depression Rating Scale ≥ 17). Intervention: The Validation Gate task, a visual attention task where the subject must detect discontinuities in the moving trajectory of circles on the screen while EEG is recorded.

Validation Gate task

Intervention Type DIAGNOSTIC_TEST

The task is to observe several moving unfilled white circles on a dark background. The circles move in straight paths. Every so often, a randomly selected circle will displace to a point inconsistent with its trajectory, which will look like a "jump". The subjects' task is to press the space bar every time they detect a displacement (e.g. jump). A session consists of 30 minutes, it starts with 2 training blocks which are followed by 2 no-cognitive load blocks and 6 blocks with increasing cognitive load conditions. During the assessment the eye movement as well as the key presses are registered in order to calculate early and late saccades as well as conscious reporting. Resting-state EEG will also be recorded and compared to the ones of age-matched healthy controls. Task-dependent EEG data will be recorded during the Validation Gate task.

ARBD and no depression

10 patients with ARBD and no clinically relevant depressive symptoms (MoCA \< 26, Hamilton Depression Rating Scale \< 17). Intervention: The Validation Gate task, a visual attention task where the subject must detect discontinuities in the moving trajectory of circles on the screen while EEG is recorded.

Validation Gate task

Intervention Type DIAGNOSTIC_TEST

The task is to observe several moving unfilled white circles on a dark background. The circles move in straight paths. Every so often, a randomly selected circle will displace to a point inconsistent with its trajectory, which will look like a "jump". The subjects' task is to press the space bar every time they detect a displacement (e.g. jump). A session consists of 30 minutes, it starts with 2 training blocks which are followed by 2 no-cognitive load blocks and 6 blocks with increasing cognitive load conditions. During the assessment the eye movement as well as the key presses are registered in order to calculate early and late saccades as well as conscious reporting. Resting-state EEG will also be recorded and compared to the ones of age-matched healthy controls. Task-dependent EEG data will be recorded during the Validation Gate task.

Healthy

10 healthy controls (no ARDB, no depression, no cognitive deficit). Intervention: The Validation Gate task, a visual attention task where the subject must detect discontinuities in the moving trajectory of circles on the screen while EEG is recorded.

Validation Gate task

Intervention Type DIAGNOSTIC_TEST

The task is to observe several moving unfilled white circles on a dark background. The circles move in straight paths. Every so often, a randomly selected circle will displace to a point inconsistent with its trajectory, which will look like a "jump". The subjects' task is to press the space bar every time they detect a displacement (e.g. jump). A session consists of 30 minutes, it starts with 2 training blocks which are followed by 2 no-cognitive load blocks and 6 blocks with increasing cognitive load conditions. During the assessment the eye movement as well as the key presses are registered in order to calculate early and late saccades as well as conscious reporting. Resting-state EEG will also be recorded and compared to the ones of age-matched healthy controls. Task-dependent EEG data will be recorded during the Validation Gate task.

Interventions

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Validation Gate task

The task is to observe several moving unfilled white circles on a dark background. The circles move in straight paths. Every so often, a randomly selected circle will displace to a point inconsistent with its trajectory, which will look like a "jump". The subjects' task is to press the space bar every time they detect a displacement (e.g. jump). A session consists of 30 minutes, it starts with 2 training blocks which are followed by 2 no-cognitive load blocks and 6 blocks with increasing cognitive load conditions. During the assessment the eye movement as well as the key presses are registered in order to calculate early and late saccades as well as conscious reporting. Resting-state EEG will also be recorded and compared to the ones of age-matched healthy controls. Task-dependent EEG data will be recorded during the Validation Gate task.

Intervention Type DIAGNOSTIC_TEST

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Alcohol Use Disorder (DSM 5) as main substance
* Positive screening for alcohol related cognitive impairment (Montreal Cognitive Assessment, MoCA \< 26)
* abstinent during 15 to 90 days according to self-reports
* no severe upper limb motor disability.
* Older than 18 years old.
* abìlity to talk, understand and write in Catalan, Spanish or English.
* sign informed consent

Exclusion Criteria

* severe cognitive incapacity that prohibits the execution of the assessment
* severe impairments like spasticity, communication disabilities (aphasia or apraxia) and perceptual or physical impairments that would interfere with the correct execution or understanding of the assessment
* history of other serious mental-health problems in acute or subacute phase
* comorbidity with severe neurological illness
* regular use of other substances (except nicotine)
* active intake of benzodiazepines
Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sponsors

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Hospital Clinic of Barcelona

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

Universitat Pompeu Fabra

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Paul Verschure

Principal Investigator

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Locations

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Addictions Unit. Psychiatry and Psychology Service. Institut Clínic de Neurociències (ICN). Hospital Clínic de Barcelona. IDIBAPS

Barcelona, , Spain

Site Status

Countries

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Spain

Central Contacts

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Martina Maier, Ms

Role: CONTACT

722257096

Belén Rubio Ballester, PhD

Role: CONTACT

Facility Contacts

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Clara Oliveras Salvà, Dr

Role: primary

34932275400 ext. 4210

Other Identifiers

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REHABOH-VG

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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