Anxiety DisordersNCT00047853
Brain Imaging Changes in Fear and Anxiety
A study testing Shock device and Acoustic startle in people with Anxiety Disorders and Fear, run by National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
The purpose of this study is to use brain imaging technology to investigate brain changes in people exposed to predictable versus unpredictable unpleasant stimuli. Unpleasant events that can be predicted evoke a response of fear, whereas unpredictable, unpleasant stimuli cause chronic anxiety not associated with a… Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 to 50 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Anxiety Disorders, Fear
- What is being tested?
- Shock device and Acoustic startle
- Type of treatment
- Medical device
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 1,080 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- 4 Nov 2002to 28 Jul 2022
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- Yes, posted in the registrySummary in the doctors' view
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 18 to 50 years
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Adult
Who may be able to join
- All screening procedures described in this section are conducted under screening protocol 01-M-0254. Subjects must meet the following inclusion criteria in order to participate in the study:
- Male or female volunteers ages 18-50 years old.
- Judged to be in good physical health on the basis of medical history, a clinical MRI scan, and physical examination. Physical exams will be conducted by a National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) credentialed physician or nurse. Clinical laboratory tests will be ordered based on his/her discretion.
- Healthy subjects judged to be in good psychiatric health on the basis of the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV-TR. The SCID will be administered by a credentialed NIMH clinician.
- Able to understand procedures and agree to participate in the study by giving written informed consent.
- This protocol (02-M-0321) will include patients with a primary diagnosis (under the clinical responsibility of Dr. Daniel Pine) of generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, SAD, PTSD, specific phobia, and major depression according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM)-IV.
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- Subjects will not be asked to completely stop smoking or drinking coffee during this study because they may experience withdrawal symptoms, which could affect our study results. However, they will be asked to abstain from drinking caffeinated beverage including coffee, tea and caffeinated soft drinks and from smoking for at least 1 hour prior to testing. They will also be instructed not to drink alcohol on the night prior to testing and on the day of testing.
- Speaks English or Spanish fluently (subjects with Major Depressive Disorder, healthy volunteers)
- Speaks English fluently (subjects with Anxiety Disorder)
Who cannot join
- Subjects will be excluded from the study if they meet the following exclusion criteria:
- Clinically significant organic disease, e.g., cardiovascular disease.
- Clinically significant abnormalities in physical examination.
- Any medical condition that increases risk for fMRI (e.g. pacemaker, metallic foreign body in eye).
- History of any disease, which in the investigators opinion may confound the results of the study, including, but not limited to, history of organic mental disorders, seizure, or mental retardation.
- Have a current diagnosis of alcohol or substance abuse ACCORDING TO DSM IV CRITERIA
Show all 21Show fewer
- Have a lifetime diagnosis of alcohol or substance dependence ACCORDING TO DSM IV CRITERIA.
- Unless subject is enrolled as a patient, subjects should not have current Axis I psychiatric disorders as identified with the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV, non-patient edition (SCID/NP).
- If a healthy volunteer, past bipolar depression and any history of psychosis or delusional disorders.
- If a healthy volunteer, first degree relative with history of psychotic disorder such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder
- If a healthy volunteer, psychotropic medication within 4 weeks of scanning
- Medications that act on the central nervous system (e.g., Lorazepam, Codeine) and thus may interfere with the interpretation of study results. Specific exclusionary drug classes include but are not limited to: (opioid analgesics, DA receptor agonists, anticholinergics, monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitors, COMT inhibitors, as well as any illicit substances). In addition, healthy participants may not be on psychotropic medications.
- Pregnancy, i.e., a positive Beta-human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) urine test conducted prior to each experiment session.
- Current or past history of cubital tunnel syndrome or carpal tunnel syndrome for shock studies that use the wrist for placement of electrodes. Cubital tunnel and carpal tunnel syndrome are exclusionary only for diagnosis on same arm as electrodes and are not exclusionary for studies that place shocks on ankles or feet.
- Reynaud's syndrome for the cold pressor test experiment
- Color blindness (for the active avoidance task only)
- ADDITIONAL EXCLUSION CRITERIA FOR PATIENTS:
- Patients who would be unable to comply with study procedures or assessments.
- Patients will be excluded if they have a current or past history of any psychotic disorder, bipolar disorder, delirium, dementia, amnestic disorder, cognitive disorder not otherwise specified, any of the pervasive developmental disorders, or mental retardation.
- Patients (except PTSD) on psychotropic medications within 2 wees of study visits, or within 6 weeks of study visits for fluoxetine will be excluded.
- PTSD patients on psychotropics medication within 2 weeks of study visits will be excluded, with the exception of antidepressants, and benzodiazepines; the preceding two classes of medications will not preclude enrollment for PTSD participants only.
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
United States1 site
National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, 9000 Rockville Pike
Bethesda, Maryland, 20892
About this study
Official title: fMRI Investigation of Explicit Cue and Contextual Fear
The purpose of this study is to use brain imaging technology to investigate brain changes in people exposed to predictable versus unpredictable unpleasant stimuli. Unpleasant events that can be predicted evoke a response of fear, whereas unpredictable, unpleasant stimuli cause chronic anxiety not associated with a specific event. Information gained from this study may help in the development of more effective treatments for anxiety disorders.
When confronted with fearful events, people eventually develop fear of specific cues that were associated with these events as well as to the environmental context in which the fearful event occurred. Evidence suggests that cued fear and contextual fear model different aspects of anxiety. However, studies that examine the way the brain affects expression of contextual fear have not been conducted. This study will use magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or Magneto-encephalography (MEG) to compare the brain activity underlying fear brought on by predictable and unpredictable aversive stimuli.
Read the detailed description
This protocol examines the neurobiology of fear and anxiety using various approaches. During fear conditioning in which a phasic explicit cue (e.g., a light) is repeatedly associated with an aversive unconditioned stimulus (e.g., a shock), the organism develops fear to the explicit cue as well as to the environmental context in which the experiment took place. Experimental evidence suggests that cued fear and contextual fear model different aspects of anxiety. Studies in patients indicated that contextual fear may model an aspect that is especially relevant to anxiety disorders. However, the neural basis for the expression of contextual fear has not previously been elucidated in human imaging studies. One important determinant of contextual fear is predictability: contextual fear increases when a threat (e.g., electric shock) is unpredictable, as opposed to when the threat is predictable. The aim of this study is to compare the neural substrates underlying fear evoked by predictable versus unpredictable shocks. Animal studies have indicated that conditioned responses to predictably cued threat and to less explicit threat are separate processes mediated by distinct brain structures. Psychophysiological data suggest that the proposed procedure can differentiate between these two responses. Hence, we anticipate that this procedure will allow us to compare brain correlates of these responses in humans. Another objective is to study effects of threat of shock on processing and learning of threat cues in the amygdala, the visual and auditory systems, and motivation/reward systems. This will be investigated by means of event-related magneto-encephalography (MEG) and fMRI measurements using various paradigms. Finally, a last project will examine how pharmacologic manipulation of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) levels with the benzodiazepine alprazolam affects the relationship between GABA concentration (quantified with magnetic resonance spectroscopy, MRS), visual- and auditory-induced gamma oscillations (measured with MEG), and fMRI BOLD response.
- Conditions
- Anxiety Disorders, Fear
- Being tested
- Shock device, Acoustic startle
- Keywords
- Stress, Fear, Anxiety, Neuroimaging, Unpredictability, Healthy Volunteer (HV)
- Medical subject headings
- Anxiety Disorders
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Shock deviceDevice
A participant could receive a shock or not receive as shock
Acoustic startleDevice
Acoustic startle for MEG only
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Healthy Volunteer | Experimental | Healthy volunteer will undergo Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and/or magneto-encephalography (MEG) and will be scanned during runs of either shock or no shock. Receives: Device: Shock device; Device: Acoustic startle |
| Patient | Experimental | Participant with a current diagnosis of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), panic disorder, social anxiety disorder (SAD), specific phobia, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), or major depression will undergo Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and will be scanned during runs of either shock or no shock. Receives: Device: Shock device |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Average Correlations Between Average Time Series - Left & Right Hemisphere of the Brain
The average bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) correlations between all averaged time series were extracted from the raters' individual masks. Blood Oxygenation Level Dependent (BOLD) signals were used to extract a mean time series from the BNST masks. This time series was correlated across the rest of the brain using 3dTcorr1D, which computes the correlation coefficient between each voxel time series. Raters were blinded to subject identity for subjective sensory effects at high field and inter-rater and volume measurements for the drawn BNST masks. Correlations were calculated between average time series extracted between all raters' masks for each subject. Two separate analyses for the left and right BNSTs were performed.
Measured: 10 minutes
Difference in Volume - Left & Right Habenula
Images were acquired on a 7 T Siemens Magnetom MRI with a 32-channel head coil over 10 minutes. Participants were instructed to keep their eyes open and look at a white fixation cross on a black background during image acquisition. Following manual tracing of the habenula, the volumes of the left and right habenulae for each subject were computed separately. The left and right habenula volumes were then compared using a paired t-test.
Measured: 10 minutes
Percent of Correct No Button Presses During Functional MRI
Subjects participated in go/nogo (91% GO trials with the " = " symbol indicating button push and 9% NOGO trials with the "O" symbol indicating no push)) task condition during 3 Tesla (3T) or 7 Tesla (7T) functional MRI with periods of threat of shocks and periods of safety when no shock could be administered. During the GNG stimuli were presented on a monitor and randomly distributed. A correct go hit was a response recorded during these 2000 ms to a go trial. Similarly, a correct nogo omission was a no response during the same period to a nogo trial. Performance was first averaged across condition (threat, safe) and trial type (go, nogo) by dividing the number of correct responses by the total number of each trial type. The NOGO and GO behavioral effects were then separately compared between 3T and 7T strength. Accuracy was measured as a percent of correct button presses during fMRI (3T or 7T).
Measured: 2000 milliseconds during trial
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted23 Oct 2002 (estimated)
- Study start4 Nov 2002
- Primary completion28 Jul 2022
- Study completion28 Jul 2022
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Posted resultsParticipant flow, outcome measures and adverse events reported by the sponsor.
- Publications (16)Papers the sponsor has linked to this study.
- Other trials for Anxiety DisordersStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Basic science
- Allocation
- Non-randomised
- Intervention model
- Single group
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 1,080 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
- Sponsor type
- US National Institutes of Health
- Responsible party
- Sponsor
- Investigators
- Maryland Pao, M.D., Principal investigator, National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT00047853
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 020321
- Other IDs
- 02-M-0321
- Status last verified
- 2 Aug 2022
- First submitted
- 22 Oct 2002
- Last updated
- 12 Mar 2024
- Results posted
- Yes, on ClinicalTrials.gov
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- Yes
- Individual data sharing
- No: .We plan to submit de-identified data to the repository.
Publications
Torrisi S, O'Connell K, Davis A, Reynolds R, Balderston N, Fudge JL, Grillon C, Ernst M. Resting state connectivity of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis at ultra-high field. Hum Brain Mapp. 2015 Oct;36(10):4076-88. doi: 10.1002/hbm.22899. Epub 2015 Jul 14.
PubMed 26178381Torrisi S, Nord CL, Balderston NL, Roiser JP, Grillon C, Ernst M. Resting state connectivity of the human habenula at ultra-high field. Neuroimage. 2017 Feb 15;147:872-879. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.10.034. Epub 2016 Oct 22.
PubMed 27780778Gorka AX, Torrisi S, Shackman AJ, Grillon C, Ernst M. Intrinsic functional connectivity of the central nucleus of the amygdala and bed nucleus of the stria terminalis. Neuroimage. 2018 Mar;168:392-402. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2017.03.007. Epub 2017 Apr 6.
PubMed 28392491Cornwell BR, Garrido MI, Overstreet C, Pine DS, Grillon C. The Unpredictive Brain Under Threat: A Neurocomputational Account of Anxious Hypervigilance. Biol Psychiatry. 2017 Sep 15;82(6):447-454. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2017.06.031. Epub 2017 Jul 6.
PubMed 28838469Torrisi S, Chen G, Glen D, Bandettini PA, Baker CI, Reynolds R, Yen-Ting Liu J, Leshin J, Balderston N, Grillon C, Ernst M. Statistical power comparisons at 3T and 7T with a GO / NOGO task. Neuroimage. 2018 Jul 15;175:100-110. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2018.03.071. Epub 2018 Apr 3.
PubMed 29621615Sarigiannidis I, Kieslich K, Grillon C, Ernst M, Roiser JP, Robinson OJ. Anxiety makes time pass quicker: neural correlates. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. 2026 Jan 21;21(1):nsag006. doi: 10.1093/scan/nsag006.
PubMed 41652901Philips RT, Torrisi SJ, Gorka AX, Grillon C, Ernst M. Dynamic Time Warping Identifies Functionally Distinct fMRI Resting State Cortical Networks Specific to VTA and SNc: A Proof of Concept. Cereb Cortex. 2022 Mar 4;32(6):1142-1151. doi: 10.1093/cercor/bhab273.
PubMed 34448816Balderston NL, Flook E, Hsiung A, Liu J, Thongarong A, Stahl S, Makhoul W, Sheline Y, Ernst M, Grillon C. Patients with anxiety disorders rely on bilateral dlPFC activation during verbal working memory. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. 2020 Dec 24;15(12):1288-1298. doi: 10.1093/scan/nsaa146.
PubMed 33150947Robinson OJ, Pike AC, Cornwell B, Grillon C. The translational neural circuitry of anxiety. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2019 Dec;90(12):1353-1360. doi: 10.1136/jnnp-2019-321400. Epub 2019 Jun 29.
PubMed 31256001Gorka AX, Fuchs B, Grillon C, Ernst M. Impact of induced anxiety on neural responses to monetary incentives. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. 2018 Nov 8;13(11):1111-1119. doi: 10.1093/scan/nsy082.
PubMed 30289497Torrisi S, Gorka AX, Gonzalez-Castillo J, O'Connell K, Balderston N, Grillon C, Ernst M. Extended amygdala connectivity changes during sustained shock anticipation. Transl Psychiatry. 2018 Jan 31;8(1):33. doi: 10.1038/s41398-017-0074-6.
PubMed 29382815Balderston NL, Liu J, Roberson-Nay R, Ernst M, Grillon C. The relationship between dlPFC activity during unpredictable threat and CO2-induced panic symptoms. Transl Psychiatry. 2017 Nov 30;7(12):1266. doi: 10.1038/s41398-017-0006-5.
PubMed 29213110Balderston NL, Hsiung A, Ernst M, Grillon C. Effect of Threat on Right dlPFC Activity during Behavioral Pattern Separation. J Neurosci. 2017 Sep 20;37(38):9160-9171. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0717-17.2017. Epub 2017 Aug 21.
PubMed 28842415Balderston NL, Hale E, Hsiung A, Torrisi S, Holroyd T, Carver FW, Coppola R, Ernst M, Grillon C. Threat of shock increases excitability and connectivity of the intraparietal sulcus. Elife. 2017 May 30;6:e23608. doi: 10.7554/eLife.23608.
PubMed 28555565Torrisi S, Robinson O, O'Connell K, Davis A, Balderston N, Ernst M, Grillon C. The neural basis of improved cognitive performance by threat of shock. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. 2016 Nov;11(11):1677-1686. doi: 10.1093/scan/nsw088. Epub 2016 Jun 30.
PubMed 27369069
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 12 Mar 2024. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- fMRI Investigation of Explicit Cue and Contextual Fear
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT00047853
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- 020321
- Conditions
- Anxiety Disorders, Fear
- Keywords
- Stress, Fear, Anxiety, Neuroimaging, Unpredictability, Healthy Volunteer (HV)
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 1,080 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)US National Institutes of Health
- Study start
- 4 Nov 2002 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 28 Jul 2022 (actual)
- Study completion
- 28 Jul 2022 (actual)
- First posted
- 23 Oct 2002 (estimated)
- Results
- Posted 12 Mar 2024
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
The purpose of this study is to use brain imaging technology to investigate brain changes in people exposed to predictable versus unpredictable unpleasant stimuli. Unpleasant events that can be predicted evoke a response of fear, whereas unpredictable, unpleasant stimuli cause chronic anxiety not associated with a specific event. Information gained from this study may help in the development of more effective treatments for anxiety disorders.
When confronted with fearful events, people eventually develop fear of specific cues that were associated with these events as well as to the environmental context in which the fearful event occurred. Evidence suggests that cued fear and contextual fear model different aspects of anxiety. However, studies that examine the way the brain affects expression of contextual fear have not been conducted. This study will use magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or Magneto-encephalography (MEG) to compare the brain activity underlying fear brought on by predictable and unpredictable aversive stimuli.
Detailed description
This protocol examines the neurobiology of fear and anxiety using various approaches. During fear conditioning in which a phasic explicit cue (e.g., a light) is repeatedly associated with an aversive unconditioned stimulus (e.g., a shock), the organism develops fear to the explicit cue as well as to the environmental context in which the experiment took place. Experimental evidence suggests that cued fear and contextual fear model different aspects of anxiety. Studies in patients indicated that contextual fear may model an aspect that is especially relevant to anxiety disorders. However, the neural basis for the expression of contextual fear has not previously been elucidated in human imaging studies. One important determinant of contextual fear is predictability: contextual fear increases when a threat (e.g., electric shock) is unpredictable, as opposed to when the threat is predictable. The aim of this study is to compare the neural substrates underlying fear evoked by predictable versus unpredictable shocks. Animal studies have indicated that conditioned responses to predictably cued threat and to less explicit threat are separate processes mediated by distinct brain structures. Psychophysiological data suggest that the proposed procedure can differentiate between these two responses. Hence, we anticipate that this procedure will allow us to compare brain correlates of these responses in humans. Another objective is to study effects of threat of shock on processing and learning of threat cues in the amygdala, the visual and auditory systems, and motivation/reward systems. This will be investigated by means of event-related magneto-encephalography (MEG) and fMRI measurements using various paradigms. Finally, a last project will examine how pharmacologic manipulation of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) levels with the benzodiazepine alprazolam affects the relationship between GABA concentration (quantified with magnetic resonance spectroscopy, MRS), visual- and auditory-induced gamma oscillations (measured with MEG), and fMRI BOLD response.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Basic science
- Allocation
- Non-randomised
- Intervention model
- Single group
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Number of arms
- 2
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Healthy Volunteer | Experimental | Device: Shock device, Device: Acoustic startleHealthy volunteer will undergo Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and/or magneto-encephalography (MEG) and will be scanned during runs of either shock or no shock. |
| Patient | Experimental | Device: Shock deviceParticipant with a current diagnosis of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), panic disorder, social anxiety disorder (SAD), specific phobia, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), or major depression will undergo Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and will be scanned during runs of either shock or no shock. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 to 50 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Adult
Key inclusion criteria (9 listed)
- All screening procedures described in this section are conducted under screening protocol 01-M-0254. Subjects must meet the following inclusion criteria in order to participate in the study:
- Male or female volunteers ages 18-50 years old.
- Judged to be in good physical health on the basis of medical history, a clinical MRI scan, and physical examination. Physical exams will be conducted by a National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) credentialed physician or nurse. Clinical laboratory tests will be ordered based on his/her discretion.
- Healthy subjects judged to be in good psychiatric health on the basis of the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV-TR. The SCID will be administered by a credentialed NIMH clinician.
- Able to understand procedures and agree to participate in the study by giving written informed consent.
Key exclusion criteria (21 listed)
- Clinically significant organic disease, e.g., cardiovascular disease.
- Clinically significant abnormalities in physical examination.
- Any medical condition that increases risk for fMRI (e.g. pacemaker, metallic foreign body in eye).
- History of any disease, which in the investigators opinion may confound the results of the study, including, but not limited to, history of organic mental disorders, seizure, or mental retardation.
- Have a current diagnosis of alcohol or substance abuse ACCORDING TO DSM IV CRITERIA
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Shock deviceA participant could receive a shock or not receive as shock | Device | Healthy Volunteer, Patient |
| Acoustic startleAcoustic startle for MEG only | Device | Healthy Volunteer |
Primary outcome
Average Correlations Between Average Time Series - Left & Right Hemisphere of the Brain
Time frame: 10 minutes
The average bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) correlations between all averaged time series were extracted from the raters' individual masks. Blood Oxygenation Level Dependent (BOLD) signals were used to extract a mean time series from the BNST masks. This time series was correlated across the rest of the brain using 3dTcorr1D, which computes the correlation coefficient between each voxel time series. Raters were blinded to subject identity for subjective sensory effects at high field and inter-rater and volume measurements for the drawn BNST masks. Correlations were calculated between average time series extracted between all raters' masks for each subject. Two separate analyses for the left and right BNSTs were performed.
Difference in Volume - Left & Right Habenula
Time frame: 10 minutes
Images were acquired on a 7 T Siemens Magnetom MRI with a 32-channel head coil over 10 minutes. Participants were instructed to keep their eyes open and look at a white fixation cross on a black background during image acquisition. Following manual tracing of the habenula, the volumes of the left and right habenulae for each subject were computed separately. The left and right habenula volumes were then compared using a paired t-test.
Percent of Correct No Button Presses During Functional MRI
Time frame: 2000 milliseconds during trial
Subjects participated in go/nogo (91% GO trials with the " = " symbol indicating button push and 9% NOGO trials with the "O" symbol indicating no push)) task condition during 3 Tesla (3T) or 7 Tesla (7T) functional MRI with periods of threat of shocks and periods of safety when no shock could be administered. During the GNG stimuli were presented on a monitor and randomly distributed. A correct go hit was a response recorded during these 2000 ms to a go trial. Similarly, a correct nogo omission was a no response during the same period to a nogo trial. Performance was first averaged across condition (threat, safe) and trial type (go, nogo) by dividing the number of correct responses by the total number of each trial type. The NOGO and GO behavioral effects were then separately compared between 3T and 7T strength. Accuracy was measured as a percent of correct button presses during fMRI (3T or 7T).
Results and safety
Loading the posted results from ClinicalTrials.gov…
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 12 Mar 2024.
- Posted resultsParticipant flow, baseline, all outcome measures and adverse events.
- Results publication: PubMed 26178381Torrisi S, O'Connell K, Davis A, Reynolds R, Balderston N, Fudge JL, Grillon C, Ernst M. Resting state connectivity of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis at ultra-high field. Hum Brain Mapp. 2015 Oct;36(10):4076-88. doi: 10.1002/hbm.22899. Epub 2015 Jul 14.
- Results publication: PubMed 27780778Torrisi S, Nord CL, Balderston NL, Roiser JP, Grillon C, Ernst M. Resting state connectivity of the human habenula at ultra-high field. Neuroimage. 2017 Feb 15;147:872-879. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.10.034. Epub 2016 Oct 22.
- Results publication: PubMed 28392491Gorka AX, Torrisi S, Shackman AJ, Grillon C, Ernst M. Intrinsic functional connectivity of the central nucleus of the amygdala and bed nucleus of the stria terminalis. Neuroimage. 2018 Mar;168:392-402. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2017.03.007. Epub 2017 Apr 6.
- Results publication: PubMed 28838469Cornwell BR, Garrido MI, Overstreet C, Pine DS, Grillon C. The Unpredictive Brain Under Threat: A Neurocomputational Account of Anxious Hypervigilance. Biol Psychiatry. 2017 Sep 15;82(6):447-454. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2017.06.031. Epub 2017 Jul 6.
- Results publication: PubMed 29621615Torrisi S, Chen G, Glen D, Bandettini PA, Baker CI, Reynolds R, Yen-Ting Liu J, Leshin J, Balderston N, Grillon C, Ernst M. Statistical power comparisons at 3T and 7T with a GO / NOGO task. Neuroimage. 2018 Jul 15;175:100-110. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2018.03.071. Epub 2018 Apr 3.
- Derived from this study: PubMed 41652901Sarigiannidis I, Kieslich K, Grillon C, Ernst M, Roiser JP, Robinson OJ. Anxiety makes time pass quicker: neural correlates. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. 2026 Jan 21;21(1):nsag006. doi: 10.1093/scan/nsag006.
- Derived from this study: PubMed 34448816Philips RT, Torrisi SJ, Gorka AX, Grillon C, Ernst M. Dynamic Time Warping Identifies Functionally Distinct fMRI Resting State Cortical Networks Specific to VTA and SNc: A Proof of Concept. Cereb Cortex. 2022 Mar 4;32(6):1142-1151. doi: 10.1093/cercor/bhab273.
- Derived from this study: PubMed 33150947Balderston NL, Flook E, Hsiung A, Liu J, Thongarong A, Stahl S, Makhoul W, Sheline Y, Ernst M, Grillon C. Patients with anxiety disorders rely on bilateral dlPFC activation during verbal working memory. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. 2020 Dec 24;15(12):1288-1298. doi: 10.1093/scan/nsaa146.
- Derived from this study: PubMed 31256001Robinson OJ, Pike AC, Cornwell B, Grillon C. The translational neural circuitry of anxiety. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2019 Dec;90(12):1353-1360. doi: 10.1136/jnnp-2019-321400. Epub 2019 Jun 29.
- Derived from this study: PubMed 30289497Gorka AX, Fuchs B, Grillon C, Ernst M. Impact of induced anxiety on neural responses to monetary incentives. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. 2018 Nov 8;13(11):1111-1119. doi: 10.1093/scan/nsy082.
- Derived from this study: PubMed 29382815Torrisi S, Gorka AX, Gonzalez-Castillo J, O'Connell K, Balderston N, Grillon C, Ernst M. Extended amygdala connectivity changes during sustained shock anticipation. Transl Psychiatry. 2018 Jan 31;8(1):33. doi: 10.1038/s41398-017-0074-6.
- Derived from this study: PubMed 29213110Balderston NL, Liu J, Roberson-Nay R, Ernst M, Grillon C. The relationship between dlPFC activity during unpredictable threat and CO2-induced panic symptoms. Transl Psychiatry. 2017 Nov 30;7(12):1266. doi: 10.1038/s41398-017-0006-5.
- NIH Clinical Center Detailed Web PageLink provided by the sponsor.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: No. .We plan to submit de-identified data to the repository.
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
Maryland Pao, M.D. principal investigator
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Shock device and Acoustic startle in people with Anxiety Disorders and Fear, run by National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) at 1 site in United States.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 9 inclusion and 21 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 12 Mar 2024. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
Yes. Results are posted in the registry (first posted 12 Mar 2024). A summary is in the For doctors view, and the full results are on ClinicalTrials.gov.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Average Correlations Between Average Time Series - Left & Right Hemisphere of the Brain (time frame: 10 minutes). The study lists 3 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT00047853, which also lists 16 linked publications.
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 12 Mar 2024.