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Completed

NCT Number: NCT04187326

Assessing Visual Processing in High Anxiety

High trait anxiety, a stable personality trait, is a risk factor for psychiatric disorders. Individuals with high trait anxiety have difficulty differentiating safety from threat, including visual information like emotional faces. This study aims to characterize visual system function in high trait anxiety. A portion of this study involves an intervention. For the intervention portion, a subset of participants will be asked to return for a lab visit upon completing the first portion of the study (multimodal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan). During this follow up visit, participants will complete a computer task that involves looking at faces and identifying emotions. Participants will complete this task either six months or twelve months after their MRI scan visit. Results from this research have the potential to inform novel therapies that target the visual system in individuals at risk for the development of psychiatric disorders.

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Key information

Conditions

Anxiety Anxiety Disorders Mental Disorders

Age range

18 year–30 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

University of Massachusetts Chan School of Medicine

Worcester, Massachusetts, 01655, United States

About this study

The purpose of this study is to understand how people with anxious personalities process emotional facial expressions. The intervention portion of this study is part of a larger study. The first portion of this study consists of a screening visit with questionnaires, and a second visit with a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan and short computer tasks.

For the intervention portion of this study, a subset of participants will return to the lab for an in-person visit either six or twelve months after their MRI scan. This visit will last approximately two hours. Participants will be asked to complete a computer task where they will be asked to identify emotional face expressions and receive feedback on their performance. They will also complete questionnaires about their mood and emotions.

The primary purpose of this research is to gather scientific information about how people with anxiety process social and emotional information.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Young adults varying continuously in trait anxiety as assessed by the Spielberger State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI).
  • HTA participants with STAI trait scores of ≥44

Exclusion criteria

  • contraindication to MRI
  • history of head trauma or loss of consciousness
  • major medical or neurological illness
  • current psychiatric medication usage or use in the last three months
  • alcohol/substance abuse or dependence and/or illicit substance use (excepting cannabis) in the last three months

Treatment and study plan

Facial Microexpression Training

Behavioral

The METT is a well-validated task designed to improve perception of subtle changes in facial expressions, termed microexpressions. Participants with high trait anxiety will return to the lab approximately six months post scan visit to complete this computer-based task. They will receive feedback during the task on their accuracy.

Primary outcomes

  1. Tolerability of the Micro Expression Training Task in Individuals With High Anxiety

    Time frame: six or twelve months post-scan visit

    Rates of completion of the behavioral task

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

University of Massachusetts, Worcester

Other

Collaborators

  • National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

Registry information

Official study title

Feed Forward Visual System Function In High Trait Anxiety

Acronym: ALPHA

Important dates

Study start
2021
Primary completion
2024
Study completion
2024
First posted
Dec 5, 2019
Registry last updated
Sep 4, 2025

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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