Cody A Cushing, Hakwan Lau, Mitsuo Kawato, Michelle G Craske, Vincent Taschereau-Dumouchel
{"title":"A double-blind trial of decoded neurofeedback intervention for specific phobias.","authors":"Cody A Cushing, Hakwan Lau, Mitsuo Kawato, Michelle G Craske, Vincent Taschereau-Dumouchel","doi":"10.1111/pcn.13726","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Aim: </strong>A new closed-loop functional magnetic resonance imaging method called multivoxel neuroreinforcement has the potential to alleviate the subjective aversiveness of exposure-based interventions by directly inducing phobic representations in the brain, outside of conscious awareness. The current study seeks to test this method as an intervention for specific phobia.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>In a randomized, double-blind, controlled single-university trial, individuals diagnosed with at least two (one target, one control) animal subtype-specific phobias were randomly assigned (1:1:1) to receive one, three, or five sessions of multivoxel neuroreinforcement in which they were rewarded for implicit activation of a target animal representation. Amygdala response to phobic stimuli was assessed by study staff blind to target and control animal assignments. Pretreatment to posttreatment differences were analyzed with a two-way repeated-measures anova.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A total of 23 participants (69.6% female) were randomized to receive one (n = 8), three (n = 7), or five (n = 7) sessions of multivoxel neuroreinforcement. Eighteen (n = 6 each group) participants were analyzed for our primary outcome. After neuroreinforcement, we observed an interaction indicating a significant decrease in amygdala response for the target phobia but not the control phobia. No adverse events or dropouts were reported as a result of the intervention.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Results suggest that multivoxel neuroreinforcement can specifically reduce threat signatures in specific phobia. Consequently, this intervention may complement conventional psychotherapy approaches with a nondistressing experience for patients seeking treatment. This trial sets the stage for a larger randomized clinical trial to replicate these results and examine the effects on real-life exposure.</p><p><strong>Clinical trial registration: </strong>The now-closed trial was prospectively registered at ClinicalTrials.gov with ID NCT03655262.</p>","PeriodicalId":20938,"journal":{"name":"Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences","volume":" ","pages":"678-686"},"PeriodicalIF":5.0000,"publicationDate":"2024-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11531993/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1111/pcn.13726","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2024/9/2 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"CLINICAL NEUROLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Aim: A new closed-loop functional magnetic resonance imaging method called multivoxel neuroreinforcement has the potential to alleviate the subjective aversiveness of exposure-based interventions by directly inducing phobic representations in the brain, outside of conscious awareness. The current study seeks to test this method as an intervention for specific phobia.
Methods: In a randomized, double-blind, controlled single-university trial, individuals diagnosed with at least two (one target, one control) animal subtype-specific phobias were randomly assigned (1:1:1) to receive one, three, or five sessions of multivoxel neuroreinforcement in which they were rewarded for implicit activation of a target animal representation. Amygdala response to phobic stimuli was assessed by study staff blind to target and control animal assignments. Pretreatment to posttreatment differences were analyzed with a two-way repeated-measures anova.
Results: A total of 23 participants (69.6% female) were randomized to receive one (n = 8), three (n = 7), or five (n = 7) sessions of multivoxel neuroreinforcement. Eighteen (n = 6 each group) participants were analyzed for our primary outcome. After neuroreinforcement, we observed an interaction indicating a significant decrease in amygdala response for the target phobia but not the control phobia. No adverse events or dropouts were reported as a result of the intervention.
Conclusion: Results suggest that multivoxel neuroreinforcement can specifically reduce threat signatures in specific phobia. Consequently, this intervention may complement conventional psychotherapy approaches with a nondistressing experience for patients seeking treatment. This trial sets the stage for a larger randomized clinical trial to replicate these results and examine the effects on real-life exposure.
Clinical trial registration: The now-closed trial was prospectively registered at ClinicalTrials.gov with ID NCT03655262.
期刊介绍：
PCN (Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences)
Publication Frequency:
Published 12 online issues a year by JSPN
Content Categories:
Review Articles
Regular Articles
Letters to the Editor
Peer Review Process:
All manuscripts undergo peer review by anonymous reviewers, an Editorial Board Member, and the Editor
Publication Criteria:
Manuscripts are accepted based on quality, originality, and significance to the readership
Authors must confirm that the manuscript has not been published or submitted elsewhere and has been approved by each author
京公网安备 11010802042870号
京ICP备2023020795号-1
分享
求助内容：
应助结果提醒方式：
扫码关注我们
