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Anxiety clinical trials at University of California Health

33 in progress, 20 open to eligible people

Showing trials for
  • Affect Treatment for Depression and Anxiety

    open to eligible people ages 18-65

    The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy and mediators of change in Positive Affect Treatment, a psychotherapy specifically aimed at enhancing reward sensitivity in individuals with low positive affect (a core feature of anhedonia) in the context of depression or anxiety. Target enrollment is 100 male and female participants with low positive affect and depression or anxiety and impaired functioning, between the ages of 18 and 65 years, who will be randomized to either Positive Affect Treatment or Negative Affect Treatment (designed to reduce threat sensitivity). Participants will complete laboratory tests, psychiatric assessments, and self-report questionnaires as part of the study. The total length of participation is around 5 months.

    at UCLA

  • Aging and Reward System Response to Inflammation and Anxiety Study

    open to eligible people ages 60-80

    The purpose of this study is to use an experimental inflammatory challenge to examine whether older adults with symptoms of anxiety experience loss of pleasure or loss of motivation when they are exposed to inflammation. Loss of pleasure or loss of motivation will be evaluated using self-report questionnaires, computer tasks, and during a brain scan.

    at UCLA

  • Benzodiazepine Taper With Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in Patients Using Prescription Opioids

    open to eligible people ages 18-85

    Taking prescription opioids for pain together with benzodiazepines for the treatment of anxiety disorders is not recommended by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) because of the elevated risk of serious complications, including fatal overdose. However, this concurrent prescription use continues to be prevalent, likely due to the high comorbidity between pain and anxiety disorders. Efforts are urgently needed to reduce benzodiazepine use among patients taking opioids. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a first-line treatment for anxiety disorders, and represents a safer and more effective treatment for anxiety disorders compared to benzodiazepines. The proposed study aims to make minor adaptations to a CBT protocol to facilitate benzodiazepine tapering and to then conduct a 2-arm randomized clinical trial with primary care patients who receive benzodiazepine and opioid prescriptions. Participants will be randomized to receive a telehealth-delivered intervention consisting of a gentle, 12-week benzodiazepine taper (BZT) with either CBT or a health education control (HE). Participants will be assessed at baseline, several points throughout treatment, at post-treatment, and at a 2-month follow-up assessment on benzodiazepine use, opioid use, and anxiety symptoms. Should CBT + BZT outperform HE + BZT, this intervention could make a significant impact by reducing major consequences of concurrent use of opioids and benzodiazepines, including mortality.

    at UCLA

  • Benzodiazepine Taper With Telehealth-Delivered Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Patients Using Prescription Opioids

    open to eligible people ages 18-85

    The study aims to examine the efficacy of a telehealth-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) + benzodiazepine taper (BZ-TP) program in facilitating reductions in benzodiazepine use among patients who are prescribed opioids for pain.

    at UCLA

  • BLOOM: Boldly Living outdOOrs for Mental Health

    open to eligible people ages 9-12

    In 2019, the Office of the California Surgeon General launched the ACEs Aware Initiative in collaboration with the California Department of Health Care Services. This ambitious campaign aims to develop a network of care model of healthcare delivery that explicitly links health resources within communities to clinicians screening patients for ACEs. The ACEs Aware Initiative recognizes nature experiences as one of seven "stress busters." Indeed, California boasts many outdoor resources for clinicians to integrate into the network of care. Through a calming effect on the autonomic nervous system, providing a setting for supportive relationships to develop and physical activity to occur, time in nature may help California prevent, heal and treat ACEs and the clinical sequelae. As one of the most common psychiatric disorders in youth, anxiety remains one of the most important sequelae of ACEs. There is a gap in evidence evaluating nature-based programs for child mental health. This study will evaluate BLOOM [Boldly Living outdOOrs for Mental health], a new intervention which is a modified version of an existing nature-based curriculum called SHINE (Stay Healthy In Nature Everyday) curriculum currently in place at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland, which takes youth and their families into nature once a month for stress relief. This new intervention mirrors SHINE except that it will be tailored to children ages 9-12 with a history of ACEs and current anxiety. This study will evaluate the benefits of a group intervention model, an independent nature-outing model, and a comparison to a wait-listed control group. Our goal is to provide a scalable model for low-cost mental health care to the California Department of Health Care Services.

    at UCSF

  • Cannabidiol to Reduce Anxiety Reactivity

    open to eligible people ages 18-70

    This study seeks to understand how cannabidiol (CBD) - a non-intoxicating chemical compound obtained from the Cannabis sativa plant - affects biological and stress-related responses that are believed to underlie anxiety disorders. This study will evaluate the effects of different doses of CBD on blood plasma levels of anandamide (a molecule in the brain that has been shown to help regulate stress responses; primary biological signature) and anxiety reactivity to a standardized stress task (secondary target) in an acute (4-day) dosing study (i.e., when steady state CBD levels have been reached). Approximately 60 subjects with social anxiety disorder (SAD), ages 18-70, will participate in this study. They will be assigned by chance to receive one of two doses of CBD (150 mg BID or 450 mg BID administered in two divided doses daily) or placebo (which resembles the study drug but has no active ingredients) BID for 3 days and on the morning of day 4. Knowledge gained from this study will help determine the therapeutic potential of CBD for anxiety.

    at UCSD

  • Low-Intensity Focused Ultrasound Pulsation (LIFUP) for the Treatment of Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

    open to eligible people ages 18-65

    There are few treatment options available for patients once they have failed standard psychopharmacological therapy for generalized anxiety disorder. Existing brain stimulation methods such as rTMS fail to target deep brain structures associated with anxiety disorders; structures such as the amygdala. In this double-blind sham-controlled clinical trial, the investigators propose to establish baseline severity of anxiety in 48 patients, then deliver eight treatments over four sessions of focused ultrasound stimulation to the amygdala. Anxiety severity will be assessed using standard psychometric scales after each session, and at follow-ups.

    at UCLA

  • New Moms Mood Tracking & Wellbeing

    open to eligible females ages 18-65

    New moms can be at risk for perinatal depression (PND). The New Moms Mood Tracking and Wellbeing study is investigating mood changes, risk factors for depression and anxiety and treatment response around the time of delivery. Participants will be asked to complete three sets of online surveys between week 28 gestation and week 20 after delivery, in addition to downloading an app to collect data using their smartphone sensors and brief symptom surveys every other week. Women with elevated symptoms can participate in treatment. Women will be randomized to one of two conditions - Perinatal Psychiatric Care or Screening and Treatment for Anxiety and Depression (STAND). In Perinatal Psychiatric Care, participants will receive appointments with psychiatry clinicians. In STAND, participants will be further allocated to Online therapy with Coaching or Clinical Care, which includes both psychotherapy and psychiatry appointments. Treatment can last up to 6 months and there will be treatment related assessments for the duration of the 6 months, in addition to brief symptom surveys on a regular basis. Therefore, participation can last between 24 and 52 weeks, as both time of delivery and treatment enrollment timepoint cannot be scheduled in advance.

    at UCLA

  • Optimizing Exposure Therapy for Anxiety Disorders

    open to eligible people ages 18-65

    The study will compare the effects that two different approaches of exposure therapy have on reducing fear and anxiety in individuals with social anxiety disorder or panic disorder.

    at UCLA

  • Partners in Caring for Anxious Youth

    open to eligible people ages 7-17

    Pediatric onset anxiety disorders (generalized anxiety, social anxiety, separation anxiety) are highly prevalent, and if untreated, are impairing into adolescence and adulthood. In the largest comparative efficacy study remission occurred in about 65% of children and adolescents treated with a combination of a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). In contrast, CBT without an SSRI achieved remission in 35% of children at 3 months and 45% at 6 months-a 30% and 20% difference, respectively. Despite the difference in remission rates, CBT alone is the preferred treatment of most patients and families. Lack of awareness of the significant difference in remission rates and concerns about medication side effects may drive patient and family preference even though SSRIs have a positive safety profile. Critiques of CBT in the above study suggest that CBT was not as effective as it could be due to short treatment duration, restricted family involvement and limited exposure sessions. Would the combination of CBT and an SSRI still be superior to CBT only, if CBT was of longer duration, and included more family involvement and exposure sessions? In the Partners in Care for Anxious Youth (PCAY) study, children and adolescents with an anxiety disorder ages 7-17 years followed in pediatric primary care clinics affiliated with three institution: Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, University of California Los Angeles and University of Cincinnati will be randomized to one of two treatment arms; either CBT only or CBT combined with an SSRI (either fluoxetine, sertraline, or escitalopram). CBT in PCAY will be 6 months in duration and include more family involvement, and more exposure opportunities than past trials. The 6-month acute treatment phase will be followed by 6 months of followup. The primary outcome will be anxiety symptom remission and reduction in impairment over 6 and 12-months.

    at UCLA

  • Project 2: Optimizing Engagement and Outcomes in STAND Digital Therapy

    open to eligible people ages 18-40

    The goal is to optimize peer coaching in order to optimize engagement and outcomes in digital therapy. The unmet mental health needs of community college students are staggering and a growing body of research demonstrates that therapy provided digitally with the assistance of trained community members without advanced degrees in mental health is an effective and scalable way to address these needs. Despite being effective for improving symptoms and functioning in those who engage in it, uptake and engagement in digital therapy is generally quite low. Recent research suggests that this is especially true of Latinx individuals, who tend to have unique and significant unmet mental health needs. To address these issues, Project 2 will examine treatment engagement, treatment satisfaction, symptoms and functioning outcomes among Latinx students at East Los Angeles College (ELAC) receiving digital therapy with peer coaching in the STAND program.

    at UCLA

  • Resources, Inspiration, Support and Empowerment (RISE) for Black Pregnant Women

    open to eligible females ages 18-65

    Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders (PMADs) encompass a range of mental health disorders that occur during pregnancy and up to one year postpartum. Approximately 13% of women experience PMADs. This rate doubles for those with adverse perinatal outcomes (APO) and triples in Black women. Recent research points to racism as one significant source of these health disparities. Cultural adaptations to improve communication with providers decrease rates of depression in minority patients as well as improve adherence to treatment, insight and alliance. Discrimination stress and worries about experiencing medical consequences are thought to increase systemic inflammation, a mechanism known to drive mental and physical symptoms. Inflammation has been implicated in both PMADs and APO, suggesting a shared underlying etiology. Evidence from our work suggests that inflammation contributes to the pathophysiology of PMADs. The proposed pilot randomized control trial will allow the investigators to build on promising preliminary results and identify whether our culturally relevant mobile Health (mHealth) intervention is effective in improving outcomes among Black pregnant women randomized to the intervention compared to a control group. The culturally relevant modules include building communication and self-advocacy skills and provide a support network. The primary objective of this research is to provide guidance for clinical care of Black women during the perinatal period, with the goal to improve mental health and physical health outcomes. A secondary goal is to examine novel inflammatory signatures that change as a function of the intervention to reduce PMADs in this population. As inflammation may be diagnostic of PMADs, identification of its role may shed light of potential intervention targets and provide critical knowledge to improve women's long-term health. PMAD symptoms will be assessed prospectively in 150 Black pregnant women, half of whom will be randomized to receive the culturally relevant mHealth intervention. The investigators hypothesize that women in the intervention group will have reduced rates of PMADs and APOs, an increase in adherence to mental health treatment and will report increased self-advocacy skills, increased communication with providers, and reduced levels of discrimination related stress. Participants will also have improved biological risk indicators including lower circulating C-reactive protein and a transcription profile of differentially expressed inflammatory genes, marked by a decreased activity of inflammatory transcription factors from blood spots. Given the high burden of both PMADs and APOs among Black mothers and the numerous consequences on maternal and child outcomes, it is imperative that investigators develop and implement effective interventions, and test the biological mechanisms that might drive these effects. This work is interdisciplinary, building on a network of community advocates to implement a novel mHealth intervention informed by real world experiences designed to enhance self-advocacy, reduce stress and prevent adverse outcomes

    at UCLA

  • S.T.A.N.D. Alacrity Center Signature Project

    open to eligible people ages 18-40

    The purpose of this study is to evaluate clinical decision-making algorithms for (a) triaging to level of care and (b) adapting level of care in a low income, highly diverse sample of community college students at East Los Angeles College (ELAC). The target enrollment is 200 participants per year, for five years (N=1000). Participants are between the ages of 18 and 40 years and will be randomized into either symptom severity decision-making (SSD) or data-driven decision-making (DDD). Participants in each condition will be triaged to one of three levels of care, including self-guided online prevention, coach-guided online cognitive behavioral therapy, and clinician-delivered care. After initial triaging, level of care will be adapted throughout the entire time of the study enrollment. Participants will complete computerized assessments and self-report questionnaires as part of the study. Recruitment will take place in the first two to four months of each academic year. The total length of participation is 40 weeks.

    at UCLA

  • Social Support and Enhanced Fear Extinction

    open to eligible people ages 18-55

    University of California, Los Angeles researchers will recruit healthy participants and anxious participants (those diagnosed with social anxiety disorder) age 18-55 years old to participate in a study examining whether the ability of social support figure reminders to enhance the extinction of fear in healthy participants extends to those with anxiety disorders. After being recruited from the UCLA community (healthy participants, n = 50) or referred by treatment providers at the Anxiety and Depression Research Center at UCLA (anxious participants, n = 50) and undergoing a telephone screening and in-person screening, 100 participants will be enrolled in the study, with an expected recruited 150 to reach this number. During the experiment, all participants will undergo the same procedures: undergoing a fear extinction procedure in which threatening cues--cues that predict electric shock--will be paired with either an image of a social support figure (provided by participants) or an image of a smiling stranger. These pairings will be presented repeatedly in the absence of shock in order for fear extinction to occur. Participants will return for a follow-up test to determine if fear extinction was successful.

    at UCLA

  • Social Support and Reduced Fear Acquisition

    open to eligible people ages 18-55

    University of California, Los Angeles researchers will recruit healthy participants and anxious participants (those diagnosed with social anxiety disorder) age 18-55 years old to participate in a study examining whether the ability of social support figure reminders to prevent the acquisition of fear in healthy participants extends to those with anxiety disorders. After being recruited from the UCLA community (healthy participants, n = 50) or referred by treatment providers at the Anxiety and Depression Research Center at UCLA (anxious participants, n =50) and undergoing a telephone screening and in-person screening, 100 participants will be enrolled in the study. During the experiment, all participants will undergo the same procedures: undergoing fear acquisition procedures--the repeated pairing of a neutral image with a mild electric shock that ultimately leads to the association of threat of shock with the image--in the presence of an image of a social support figure (provided by participants) and an image of a smiling stranger.

    at UCLA

  • The Reducing Risk Study

    open to eligible people ages 12-18

    The present study will test an innovative mobile health adaptation of a behavioral intervention that improves sleep and mental health concerns among adolescents.

    at UCSF

  • Virtual Reality to Reduce Anxiety and Pain in Perioperative Settings

    open to eligible people ages 18-75

    We will investigate whether the use of Virtual Reality (VR) preoperatively and intraoperatively can help treat pain and anxiety, as measured by patient feedback, vital signs trends, and the amounts of anesthetics, pain medications and anxiolytics used during surgical procedures. The VR intervention will be studied during short hand surgeries normally performed using local anesthesia and sedation.

    at UCSF

  • Virtual Reality (VR) for Prone Pain Procedures

    open to eligible people ages 18 years and up

    The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of virtual reality (VR) distraction in patients undergoing interventional pain procedures in the prone position. VR has been shown to improve patient experience during interventional pain procedures, however, many of these procedures are done in the prone position making VR a challenge. This study will evaluate the effect of a VR headset and support in patients undergoing prone interventional pain procedures compared to control.

    at UC Davis

  • Pre-operative Consultation on Patient Anxiety and First-time Mohs Micrographic Surgery

    open to eligible people ages 18-100

    To determine if in-office pre-operative consultation has a significant effect on the anxiety level and overall post-operative satisfaction of patients undergoing first time Mohs surgery

    at UC Davis

  • SKY Breath Intervention

    open to eligible people ages 16-24

    Depression is highly debilitating and prevalent among adolescents. Adolescent-onset depression is associated with long, severe, and recurrent episodes that are often not responsive to treatment. There is a dire need to develop novel treatments that are efficient, cost-effective, and tolerant for this population. Sudarshan Kriya Yoga (SKY) is a breath-based meditative practice that entails a sequence of specific breathing techniques to help practitioners achieve a state of calm alertness. It has offered benefits as a therapeutic option for mild-to-moderate depression and anxiety disorders and as an adjunctive treatment in patients with major depressive disorder, but the neurological mechanism of SKY breath intervention is still not fully understood. The goal of this study is to determine the efficacy of SKY breath intervention in treating depressed adolescents and to understand its mechanisms. In this study, thirty depressed adolescents and thirty healthy controls will be recruited to evaluate the efficacy of the 8-week SKY intervention. Assessment for depression and anxiety, salivary cortisol, resting heart rate, blood pressure, and neuroimaging will be collected at the baseline, 4 weeks into SKY intervention (questionnaires only), and post-intervention. This will be the first study to evaluate the potential benefits of of SKY breath intervention as a treatment option for depressed adolescents.

    at UCSF

  • Amplification of Positivity for Alcohol Use Disorder Co-Occurring With Anxiety or Depression

    Sorry, currently not accepting new patients, but might later

    The purpose of this study is to examine the feasibility of a protocol in which individuals with comorbid depression or anxiety disorders and alcohol use disorder will be randomized to complete Amplification of Positivity for Alcohol Use Disorder (AMP-A)- a psychological treatment focused on increasing positive thoughts, emotions, and behaviors- or a traditional cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) intervention. Assessed outcomes will include participant acceptability and completion rates, participant compliance with the intervention, positive and negative affect, substance use- and depression and anxiety-related symptom severity, and functional disability.

    at UCSD

  • Amplification of Positivity to Enhance Social Connections in Anxiety and Depression

    Sorry, in progress, not accepting new patients

    The overall goal of this project is to develop a novel transdiagnostic behavioral treatment -- Amplification of Positivity (AMP) -- intended to enhance positive social connections in individuals with elevated anxiety and/or depression. Social relationship impairments are common and debilitating consequences of anxiety and depression. Existing treatments have some beneficial impact on social functioning; however, many people continue to have few and/or poor quality relationships following treatment, even after experiencing symptom relief. This study will evaluate the effects of AMP on the brain systems that have been shown to be important for establishing positive connections with others. Approximately 100 individuals (ages 18-55) seeking treatment for anxiety or depression will participate in this study. Participants will be randomly assigned with equal probability to either AMP or stress management training (SMT) (6 sessions each). Participants will be assessed at baseline and post-treatment and compared on measures assessing brain responses to social reward (primary outcome), as well as physiological, behavioral, and emotional responses to social reward (secondary outcomes). It is hypothesized that the AMP group will experience greater increases from pre- to post-treatment in activity in brain systems that regulate the processing of social reward cues (e.g., striatum) relative to participants in the SMT group. It is also hypothesized that changes in brain activation to social reward from pre- to post-treatment will be correlated with the degree of improvement in social connectedness.

    at UCSD

  • By Youth, For Youth: Digital Supported Peer Navigation for Addressing Child Mental Health Inequities

    Sorry, not yet accepting patients

    Black and Latino youth are more likely to experience an unmet mental health or psychosocial need than do their white counterparts. Schools and primary care clinics are ideal hubs to provide mental health, healthcare, social services, and prevention to students and families who otherwise face barriers to care. Using Participatory Design and Community Partnered Participatory Research (CPPR) for app development, mobile technology is designed to optimize access to wellness resources. The proposed intervention is a model of care using technology and navigators for connecting youth ages 13-22 to mental health care and supports. The app is co-created with the community and supported by culturally responsive individuals called family and youth navigators, in schools and primary care clinics. Outcomes are measured using the cascade of care model.

    at UCLA UCSF

  • Enhancing Transdiagnostic Mechanisms of Cognitive Dyscontrol (R33)

    Sorry, not yet accepting patients

    The proposed project aims to test the cognitive and neural effects of a cognitive training in a sample of individuals seeking treatment for anxiety, depression, or traumatic stress symptoms. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of two groups. Group 1 will receive a computer-based program that is designed as a cognitive training intervention and Group 2 will receive a similar computer-based exercise that researchers think will be less effective in training thinking skills (also known as a control or sham condition). Participants will be compared on cognitive performance and brain response during cognitive tasks from baseline to post-treatment.

    at UCSD

  • Intergenerational Transmission of Traumatic Stress

    Sorry, in progress, not accepting new patients

    Millions of U.S. parents have experienced trauma, putting them at risk for maladaptive parenting practices, which then confer vulnerabilities to their children. This study aims to enhance understanding of how parental emotional dysregulation associated with traumatic stress impedes effective parenting. The study employs neurophysiological methods (electroencephalogram; EEG) to address some of the challenges inherent in the study of emotion (particularly in trauma-exposed individuals) and to identify potential biomarkers of traumatic stress and response to intervention.

    at UCLA

  • Music Genre Stereotypes to Boost Relaxation in Chronic Pain Patients

    Sorry, not yet accepting patients

    Social psychological research has demonstrated that internalized stereotypes affect people's attitudes and behaviors. Music-based interventions that rely on stereotypes might have promise for keeping participants engaged in health interventions, reducing stress, and improving wellbeing.

    at UC Irvine

  • Personalized Brain Stimulation to Treat Chronic Concussive Symptoms

    Sorry, not yet accepting patients

    The goal of this study is to investigate a new treatment for chronic symptoms after concussion or mild traumatic brain injury in people aged 18-65 years old. Chronic symptoms could include dizziness, headache, fatigue, brain fog, memory difficulty, sleep disruption, irritability, or anxiety that occurred or worsened after the injury. These symptoms can interfere with daily functioning, causing difficulty returning to physical activity, work, or school. Previous concussion therapies have not been personalized nor involved direct treatments to the brain itself. The treatment being tested in the present study is a noninvasive, personalized form of brain stimulation, called transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). The investigators intend to answer the questions: 1. Does personalized TMS improve brain connectivity after concussion? 2. Does personalized TMS improve avoidance behaviors and chronic concussive symptoms? 3. Do the improvements last up to 2 months post-treatment? 4. Are there predictors of treatment response, or who might respond the best? Participants will undergo 14 total visits to University of California Los Angeles (UCLA): 1. One for the baseline symptom assessments and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) 2. Ten for TMS administration 3. Three for post-treatment symptom assessments and MRIs Participants will have a 66% chance of being assigned to an active TMS group and 33% chance of being assigned to a sham, or inactive, TMS group. The difference is that the active TMS is more likely to cause functional changes in the brain than the inactive TMS.

    at UCLA

  • Pramipexole to Enhance Social Connections

    Sorry, not yet accepting patients

    This study seeks to understand if the medication pramipexole improves social connectedness and functioning in adults (ages 18-50) who experience anxiety or depression. The study plans to enroll 108 participants total across two sites (University of California San Diego and New York State Psychiatric Institute). Pramipexole will be given in a 6-week randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Social reward processing will be assessed using measures of brain function (fMRI), behavior, and self-report at baseline and week 6. Knowledge gained from this study will help determine the therapeutic potential of targeting the dopamine system to remediate social disconnection as an anxiety and depression intervention.

    at UCSD

  • Psilocybin Therapy for Depression and Anxiety in Parkinson's Disease

    Sorry, in progress, not accepting new patients

    The purpose of this study is to determine the safety, tolerability, and feasibility of psilocybin therapy for depression and anxiety in people with Parkinson's disease.

    at UCSF

  • Reward Processes and Rehearsal in Exposure Therapy

    Sorry, accepting new patients by invitation only

    The purpose of this study is to 1) examine the importance of self-reported relief following exposure and 2) test whether positive-focused rehearsal following exposure can improve treatment outcomes for participants who endorse fear of public speaking. Exposure therapy is an extinction-based behavioral technique, often employed in the context of cognitive behavioral therapy. It involves strategically exposing an individual to a feared stimulus in an effort to generate new non-fear associations with that stimulus. Relief refers to the positive, rewarding emotions associated with the absence of an expected aversive outcome following exposure to a feared stimulus. In the current study, participants will engage in a series of short public speaking exposures that take place over two sessions. After every two exposures, participants will be asked to complete either a positive or neutral rehearsal exercise, consisting of recalling either positive or neutral aspects of the speech exposures. At multiple points throughout the study, participants will complete ratings of reward sensitivity, positive affect, relief, and expectancy of the aversive outcome. The investigators will test the following: 1) the relationship of reward sensitivity and positive affect with relief following exposures, 2) the relationship between relief after exposure and learning rate (i.e., learning that the feared stimulus does not predict an aversive outcome), 3) potential differences in exposure outcomes between the positive and neutral rehearsal groups.

    at UCLA

  • Spatiotemporal Dynamics of the Human Emotion Network

    Sorry, accepting new patients by invitation only

    The overall goal of this study is to elucidate how emotion network dynamics relate to the behavioral, autonomic, and experiential changes that accompany emotions and to investigate how emotion network dysfunction relates to affective symptoms. Affective symptoms are a common feature of neuropsychiatric disorders that reflect dysfunction in a distributed brain network that supports emotion. How aberrant functioning in a single emotion network underlies a wide range of affective symptoms, such as depression and anxiety, is not well understood. Anchored by the anterior cingulate cortex and ventral anterior insula, the emotion network responds to numerous affective stimuli. The recording of neural activity directly from the cortical surface from individuals is a promising approach since intracranial electroencephalography (iEEG) can provide direct estimates of neuronal populations to map the spatiotemporal dynamics of the emotion network at a millisecond level resolution. This study will exam how activity within emotion network hubs changes during emotions and how emotion network properties make some individuals more vulnerable to affective symptoms than others. A multidisciplinary approach is critical for understanding the dynamic brain network to advance neuroanatomical models of emotions and for guiding the development of novel treatments for affective symptoms.

    at UCSF

  • VR Mindfulness Study

    Sorry, not yet accepting patients

    This is an exploratory study investigating the use of virtual reality-based guided mindfulness meditation in improving pain, stress, and mood within various clinical populations. The feasibility of utilizing VR applications within the populations of patients with various specific disease types and clinical settings is a burgeoning area of research. The goal is to establish an association between the use of VR-based mindfulness meditation, and pain, stress, and mood scores.

    at UCLA

  • Latent Structure of Multi-level Assessments and Predictors of Outcomes for Women in Recovery

    Sorry, in progress, not accepting new patients

    In this study the investigators will seek to improve their understanding of how positive and negative valence systems, cognition, and arousal/interoception are inter-related in disorders of trauma, mood, substance use, and eating behavior for women involved in a court diversion program in Tulsa, Oklahoma (Women in Recovery). The investigators will recruit 100 individuals and use a wide range of assessment tools, neuroimaging measures, blood and microbiome collections and behavioral tasks to complete the baseline and follow-up study visits. Upon completion, the investigators aim to have robust and reliable dimensional measures that quantify these systems and a set of assessments that should be recommended as a clinical tool to enhance outcome prediction for the clinician and assist in determining who will likely benefit from the diversion program, and to inform future revision or augmentation of the program to increase treatment effectiveness.

    at UCSD

Our lead scientists for Anxiety research studies include .

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