Improving Performance of Combat Soldiers by Utilizing Attentional Training Based on Eye Tracking

NCT ID: NCT05306197

Last Updated: 2024-07-09

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: TERMINATED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 79 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2022-03-14
• Study Completion Date: 2024-06-21

Brief Summary

Military service in combat units entails exposure to traumatic events that require mental adjustment. To develop and efficiently apply attentional interventions aimed at enhancing soldiers' combat performance, it is essential to extensively investigate the efficiency of these training programs, which has yet to been done. The prupose of the current study is to examine the efficiency of the new attention eye-tracking based training, in comparison to RT-based training and to a control group, in improving performance of combat soldiers. In addition, the influence of the attention training on aspects of psychological resilience will also be examined in questionnaires.

Detailed Description

Following the explanation to participants regarding the study process, those who give written consent to participate will be randomly placed into one of three groups: GCFT (N=60), ABMT (N=60), and a neutral control group - task based on eye-tracking (N=60). The study will include 2 measurement points during the military service: before the attention training and after the attention training. In each measurement point, the soldiers will complete computerized tasks to measure threat attention, questionnaires, and performance data from shooting ranges and combat fitness.

Conditions

Military Combat Performance

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: OTHER
• Blinding Strategy: SINGLE

Study Groups

Gaze-Contingent Feedback Training (toward threat)

In the task, 30 different matrices, each consisting of 16 faces, will be presented. Each matrix includes 8 angry faces and 8 neutral, 8 women and 8 men, and the locations are counterbalanced between matrices. The participants are asked to view the matrices in any way they choose, and the eye-tracking camera records their viewing location relative to the stimuli presented on the screen. At the beginning of each training session, the soldier will choose to which music he would like to listen during the 12-minute session from a diverse list of music. After calibrating the eye-tracker, the participant will be instructed to view matrices of faces as he chooses, as described above in the assessment task. The music chosen by the participant will play only when he is looking at threatening faces and it will stop when he looks at neutral faces. Thus, a change in viewing patterns is expected by implementing operant conditioning principles.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Gaze-Contingent Feedback Training

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Feedback according to participants' viewing patterns, in order to modify their attention toward threat stimuli.

Active Comparator: RT-Based Attention Bias Modification (toward threat)

A dot-probe task of 160 trials. Trials begins with a fixation cross (+), on which the participant is asked to focus (500ms). Then two face stimuli (one angry one neutral) are presented above and below the fixation cross (500ms). After the stimuli disappear, a target probe (right- or left-pointing arrowhead) appears in place of one of the face stimuli. The participant is asked to indicate which target probe was presented using a predetermined key. The target probe will remain on the screen until response, after which a new trial will begin.

Participants are instructed to identify the probe type as quickly and accurately as possible.

In the training task, all of the target probes will appear in the threat location (angry face). Thus, over multiple trials, learning is expected to occurs such that the threatening face predicts the location of the target probe, thereby achieving the desired change in attention pattern.

Group Type: ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Attention Bias Modification

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Attention training via repeated trials of a dot-probe task intended to direct attention toward threat stimuli using threat and neutral face stimuli.

Non-Contingent Feedback Training

This condition is also based on the eye-tracking task (see Experimental Arm) with a fundamental change - The music chosen by the soldier will play continuously without any reinforcement for looking at threat or neutral faces.

Group Type: PLACEBO_COMPARATOR

Non-Contingent Feedback Training

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Participants listen to a musical track they chose with no operant conditioning.

Interventions

Gaze-Contingent Feedback Training

Feedback according to participants' viewing patterns, in order to modify their attention toward threat stimuli.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Attention Bias Modification

Attention training via repeated trials of a dot-probe task intended to direct attention toward threat stimuli using threat and neutral face stimuli.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Non-Contingent Feedback Training

Participants listen to a musical track they chose with no operant conditioning.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Each soldier from the cohort that will give his written consent will be able to participate in the study.

Exclusion Criteria

• Hebrew proficiency is insufficient to complete the study questionnaires.

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Eligible Sex: MALE
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

Tel Aviv University

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Yair Bar-Haim

Professor

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

Yair Bar-Haim, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Tel Aviv University

Locations

Tel Aviv University

Tel Aviv, , Israel

Countries

Israel

References

Wald I, Fruchter E, Ginat K, Stolin E, Dagan D, Bliese PD, Quartana PJ, Sipos ML, Pine DS, Bar-Haim Y. Selective prevention of combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder using attention bias modification training: a randomized controlled trial. Psychol Med. 2016 Sep;46(12):2627-36. doi: 10.1017/S0033291716000945. Epub 2016 Jul 5.

Reference Type: BACKGROUND

PMID: 27377418 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

TAU-GCFTperformance

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id