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OpenTrials
Completed

NCT Number: NCT02572830

Reconsolidation and EMDR

Blocking of reconsolidation by pharmacological or behavioral means offers the therapeutic possibility of weakening traumatic memories in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Two reconsolidation-based interventions, propranolol and extinction learning, have been shown to weaken fear memories in human healthy subjects. However, the success of these interventions seems to be limited to weak conditioned fear memories. This calls for new, potentially more efficacious, interventions to be tested. Bilateral eye movements seem to be a promising candidate intervention for blocking reconsolidation due to the compelling evidence of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing as effective treatment in PTSD. The investigators' aim is to test bilateral eye movements as an active reconsolidation-blocking intervention in an optimized differential fear conditioning procedure that the investigators have recently developed. This novel experimental assay creates stronger fear memories in healthy individuals.

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Key information

Conditions

PTSD Mental Disorders Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders, Traumatic Trauma and Stressor Related Disorders

Age range

18 year–60 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

University Hospital Zurich, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy

Zurich, Canton of Zurich, 8091, Switzerland

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

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

Inclusion criteria

  • Male or female between 18 years and 60 years of age
  • Presence of a manageable, nonphobic fear of spiders as determined by scores above the mean (male: 8.06; female: 10.46) on the German adapted Spider Phobia Questionnaire (SPQ; 38) and phobia criteria extracted from the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-5 Axis I Disorders (SCID-I; 39)
  • Signed Informed Consent after being informed

Exclusion criteria

  • Current or past neurological or other medical condition affecting the brain
  • Current use of any medication (except contraceptives, herbal medicine)
  • Known or suspected non-compliance, drug or alcohol misuse
  • Presence of any current psychiatric disorders determined by the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI; 40)
  • Inability to follow the procedures of the study, e.g. due to language problems
  • No SC response to physical (Valsalva maneuver), psychological (mental arithmetic) and/or auditive (handclapping) stressor

Treatment and study plan

Delayed Bilateral Eye Movements

Behavioral

Bilateral Eye Movements followed by a 10 min delay after reactivation of fear-memory.

Undelayed Bilateral Eye Movement

Behavioral

Bilateral Eye Movements followed by no delay after reactivation of fear-memory. reactivation of the fear memory trace during which the reactivated memory is assumed to be in a labile state.

Primary outcomes

  1. Skin conductance (SC) response

    Time frame: Change from Day 1 (acquisition) fear conditioned SC response at day 3 (testing of renewal, reinstatement) and day 30 follow-up (testing of spontaneous recovery/renewal, savings)

Secondary outcomes

  1. Blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) response

    Time frame: Change from Day 1 (acquisition) fear conditioned BOLD response at day 3 (testing of renewal, reinstatement) and day 30 follow-up (testing of spontaneous recovery/renewal, savings)

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

University of Zurich

Other

Collaborators

  • Harvard Medical School (HMS and HSDM)
  • Massachusetts General Hospital

Registry information

Official study title

Blocking Memory Reconsolidation by Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)

Important dates

Study start
2015
Primary completion
2017
Study completion
2017
First posted
Oct 9, 2015
Registry last updated
May 8, 2018

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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