Fear and Avoidance in PTSD Patients

Part of paid clinical trials in Houston, Texas.

Sponsor
The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston
Study ID
NCT04770584
Status
Recruiting
Apply to this trial

Conditions

Eligibility Criteria

Sex
ALL
Age
18 Years - 70 Years
Healthy Volunteers
Accepted

Interventions

  • Fear Conditioning — BEHAVIORAL
    Participants will be administered increasing intensities of mild electric shock via electrodes connected to the foot. New Biopac stimulators that can deliver higher shock intensity, provided participants agreement will be used to assure adequate conditioning levels. Stimulation is measures in milliamps (mA), and each delivered stimulation will be 0.5 seconds long (500 milliseconds). To colored (blue, red, \& yellow) light stimuli (CS). The light stimulus is followed by a shock or no shock depending on color.
  • Avoidance conditioning — OTHER
    Via button pressing. Only one stimulus-CS will enable control over experiencing the shock: the participant can press the button during the first 2 seconds of the light presentation to avoid the shock.
  • Pavlovian fear extinction learning — OTHER
    After avoidance conditioning, the CS+ associated with avoidance responding appears with no button to press and no shock is administered.
  • Willingness to pay to avoid shock — OTHER
    On the next day, participants receive a monetary stipend to use to pay to guarantee that they are not to receive any shocks if they press a button from the CS+. This and all previously described experimental phases noted above will occur inside of the fMRI scanner.

Study Details

The purpose of this research study is to study how the brain learns to avoid certain stimuli or situations using an experimental paradigm. The big goal is to measure brain responses and subject's feelings and expectations when they are learning to actively avoid experimental stimuli, and how fear extinction learning and monetary cost can change how and when subjects are to avoid.

Key Dates

Start date
Sep 9, 2021
Status verified
Apr 2026
Primary completion
Jan 31, 2028
Completion
Jan 31, 2028

Study Design

Enrollment
300 participants (estimated)
Allocation
NA
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE

Arms

  • Experimental: Emotional learning paradigm
    After the initial screening / baseline assessment visit, participants will undergo two Experimental Visits, which include participation in an emotional learning paradigm and an fMRI scan over the course of two consecutive days. Participants will be asked to look at pictures on a computer screen to measure physiological response physiological response (skin conductance response) and brain responses using a functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) machine. These two visits will be scheduled within a month from the baseline assessment visit.

Primary Outcome Measure

Skin Conductance Response (SCR) [ Time Frame: Experimental Day 1, Experimental Day 2 ]

Central Contacts

Locations (1)

FacilityCityStateZIPSite coordinators
UTHealth HoustonHoustonTexas77054
Mohammed R. Milad, PhD
[email protected]

Find similar trials in Houston, TX

By condition
PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder)
By specialty
PsychiatryMental healthBehavioral health
By research site
UTHealth Houston· Houston, TX

Related Studies