The Effects of Very Brief Exposure on PTSD in U.S. Combat Veterans

Part of paid clinical trials in Los Angeles, California.

Sponsor
Children's Hospital Los Angeles
Study ID
NCT06218381
Status
Recruiting
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Conditions

Eligibility Criteria

Sex
ALL
Age
18 Years - 50 Years
Healthy Volunteers
Accepted

Interventions

  • Very Brief Exposure to Combat Images — OTHER
    In VBE, a series of pictures representing a person's fears (e.g., a combat scene with arousing visuals) is presented very briefly (17 ms), followed by a masking stimulus that prevents conscious recognition of each picture. This sequence of picture-mask stimuli is repeated many times in an exposure session.

Study Details

The goal of this clinical trial is to develop a new behavioral treatment for U.S. combat veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), very brief exposure to combat-related stimuli. The main questions it aims to answer are: 1. How does Very Brief Exposure (combat images and control everyday images) and Visible Exposure to combat stimuli affect brain activity and subjective fear ratings? 2. To what extent are participants aware of the stimuli presented and tolerating the exposures? All participants will view both very brief exposure and visible exposure to combat stimuli in the functional magnetic brain imaging (fMRI) scan. They will provide ratings of fear, awareness, and tolerability. Researchers will compare U.S. combat veterans with PTSD and healthy controls to confirm differences in brain region activation and ratings.

Key Dates

Start date
Mar 22, 2024
Status verified
Dec 2025
Primary completion
Jul 31, 2026
Completion
Jul 31, 2027

Study Design

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

Arms

  • Experimental: Image Exposure Arm
    This within-subjects design study will have all participants view three types of exposure during fMRI scanning: VBE to combat images, VBE to masked everyday scenes (control), and conscious visible exposure to the same images (control).

Primary Outcome Measure

Mean Activation of Frontostriatal and Prefrontal Brain Regions to combat stimuli in PTSD [ Time Frame: Day 2 ]

Central Contacts

Locations (1)

FacilityCityStateZIPSite coordinators
Brain Imaging LabLos AngelesCalifornia90027
Courtney Marcelino
[email protected]
323-361-6456

Find similar trials in Los Angeles, CA

By condition
PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder)
By specialty
PsychiatryMental healthBehavioral health
By research site
Brain Imaging Lab· Los Angeles, CA

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