Active clinical trials for "Phobic Disorders"

Exposure is considered the therapy of choice for specific phobias (SPs). Nevertheless, therapy engagement is extremely limited. SPs are maintained through avoidance of feared stimuli and as such willingness to approach what is feared constitutes a key factor that could explain limited treatment engagement. Values interventions, a key element of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), might be one way to increase engagement, yet to this date limited research exists in this area. For the purposes of the current study, two brief values interventions were developed: (a) a personal and (b) a prosocial one. These will be compared to (c) a no-instructions control in increasing willingness to approach and approach behaviour towards phobic stimuli. Ninety participants with flying phobia will be randomly allocated to one of the three groups. To measure willingness to engage with feared stimuli and approach behaviour two behavioural approach tasks using novel technologies (virtual reality), which aimed to expose participants to situations analogous to real life, were developed. Willingness and behavioural approach towards airplanes at a one month follow up will also be assessed. Therefore, it is hypothesised that: Participants in either of the two values intervention groups will have greater willingness to engage and approach behaviour towards feared stimuli compared to those in control, during the study tasks. Participants in either of the two values intervention groups will have greater willingness to engage and approach behaviour towards feared stimuli compared to those in control at follow up. Additionally, as prosocial values provide an evolutionary advantage, the second study aim was to identify if they lead to greater engagement with phobic stimuli compared to personal ones. Therefore, it was also hypothesised that: Participants in the prosocial values group will have greater willingness to engage and approach behaviour towards feared stimuli compared to those in personal values group, both during the study tasks and at follow up. Participants in the prosocial values group will have greater willingness to engage and approach behaviour towards feared stimuli compared to those in personal values group at follow up.

The study was conducted among a group of dental patients aged (6-8 years old) of both genders to assess the following variables in the needleless interparliamentary anesthesia (NUMBEE) compared to traditional local anesthesia: Pain perception. Pain related behaviors. Dental anxiety Anesthetic efficiency. Patient acceptance and preference

The aim of this study is to determine the validity of a self-questionnaire detecting seniors phobia of falling living at home. A prospective monocentric observational study compares in a blind way the presence of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders fourth edition (DSM-IV) criteria for specific phobia, considered as the gold standard to the score obtained at the detecting questionnaire for ≥70 years old seniors suspected of phobia of falling and attending geriatric day hospital at the Bretonneau hospital (APHP, Paris).

The purpose of this trial is to study how teens with and without an anxiety disorder make decisions. This is a brain imaging study using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in adolescents between the ages of 13 and 17.

The study hypothesis is that quetiapine XR has anxiolytic properties. The study aims to investigate the putative anxiolytic properties of quetiapine XR in patients with anxiety disorders. Therefore, in a proof-of-concept design patients with simple phobia will be selected to investigate specific anxiolytic and antipanic activity during acute anxiety. Moreover, in a combined fMRI/visual stimulus presentation paradigm activity of fear-network associated brain structures such as the amygdala will be investigated under treatment with quetiapine XR or placebo. Additionally, genetic factors potentially mediating anxiolytic properties of quetiapine will be studied.

This study evaluates if our Virtual Reality (VR) simulation inside the MRI efficiently alleviates symptoms of claustrophobia for patients during the MRI examination.

The purpose of this study is to use functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate how the human brain learns to form associations between neutral and emotional stimuli. The study is based on the basic principles of Pavlovian conditioning. When someone learns that a neutral stimulus (such as the sound of a bell) predicts an unpleasant stimulus (such as a mild electrical shock), the neutral stimulus takes on the properties of an emotional stimulus. The investigators are interested in the neural processes involved in this learning in people with a clinical anxiety disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

The objective of the study is to search for possible predictors for claustrophobia during magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. A claustrophobic event shall be defined by an incomplete examination, or a complete examination that requires coping actions by the staff. Coping actions may consist of the administration of sedatives, prism glasses, an MR imaging test run with the patient, a pause, the prone position, an escort in the scanner room, and supportive communication. The investigators hypothesize that there is a difference between patients with and without events in their scores on the Claustrophobia Questionnaire and several further psychometric questions. Other factors may also favour events like patient characteristics, examined region, duration of the examination and scanner type. Therefore, predictors could identify patients who are likely to experience claustrophobia during MR imaging so that they can receive the appropriate support by the staff to complete their examination. Thus a larger patient population could benefit from MR imaging.

This study aims to investigate the neurophysiological correlates of spider phobia and its treatment with CBT based Exposure Therapy. This is the first study to investigate the neurophysiological correlates of Exposure Therapy in situ by means of functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS). 30 spider phobic patients will be assessed and randomly allocated to 5 sessions of exposure therapy or waiting-list. Further, 30 non-phobic control subjects will be assessed (primary assessment only). During Exposure Therapy, changes in blood oxygenation will be measured with fNIRS in areas of the Cognitive Control Network. Regions of interest are the bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), bilateral inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and somatosensory association cortex (SAC). Before the treatment, subjects will have one session of psychoeducation in which the rationale for the treatment is explained. In each therapy session subjects are exposed to 20 trials (each lasting 40s) of guided exposure by a psychotherapist. Further, 20 control trials of equal length are assessed in which subjects work with an earthworm. During the therapy additional anxiety coping strategies (e.g., controlled breathing, attention refocusing, cognitive reappraisal) are trained. After the treatment or waiting-list phase, treatment conditions are switched: The waiting list will be treated and the treated subject will wait for approximately 6 weeks. Before treatment (primary assessment), after treatment (secondary assessment) and after study completion (final assessment), additional combined NIRS EEG measurements are done. On a peripheral physiological level heart rate and EMG of the facial corrugator supercilii are measured. During these measurements subjects are asked to watch 10s lasting video clips showing spiders (experimental condition) or pets (dogs and cats). On a psychometric level, spider phobia will be assessed by questionnaires (SPQ, FSQ, SBQ) and behavioral assessments.

This study is to determine the possibility of assessing the level of anxiety in MRI patients by means of the respiration rate (RR) and heart rate (HR) indicators acquired by a fiber-optic sensor system. The mean RR and/or HR values recorded at the beginning and the end of an MRI scanning will be referred to the State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) scores completed before and after the MRI scanning, respectively.