Unconscious Reduction of Fear Through Decoded Neuro-Reinforcement
University of California, Los Angeles
Summary
This application investigates the efficacy of a novel method of neuro-reinforcement based on decoded fMRI activity to reduce fear responses in individuals with phobias (e.g., spiders, snakes). This method works unconsciously in the brain, without the need for participants to endure repeated conscious exposures to their feared stimuli. Fear-related disorders such as specific phobia, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and other anxiety disorders present a major challenge, as effective treatment options usually involve repeated exposures to feared stimuli, leading to high levels of distress, fear, and panic that can motivate premature treatment termination. Consequently, there is an unmet need for treatment that minimizes subjective discomfort and attrition in order to maximize efficacy. Recent developments in computational neuroimaging have enabled a method that can deliver unconscious exposure to feared stimuli, resulting in effective fear reduction while bypassing a primary cause of treatment attrition. Because this treatment method happens unconsciously in the brain, changes in behavior outcomes are potentially more likely to generalize to different contexts, thereby overcoming a limitation of traditional treatments.
Description
The gold standard treatment for specific phobias is exposure therapy, wherein the individual repeatedly faces the object of their fear. However, for many patients, the level of distress prohibits them from either starting or completing exposure therapy. The objective of this application is to use focal neuro-reinforcement based on decoded fMRI information (from the ventral temporal temporal cortex) to reduce fear responses to feared animal stimuli (e.g., spiders, birds) in individuals with phobias, directly and unconsciously in the brain, without repeatedly consciously exposing participants to…
Eligibility
- Age range
- 18–65 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- No
Inclusion Criteria: 1. Individual has normal or corrected to normal vision 2. Individual has normal or corrected to normal hearing 3. Individual is competent to understand informed consent 4. Individual must meet the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) diagnostic criteria for specific phobias, animal subtype Exclusion Criteria: 1. Individual is unable to fill in consent form correctly 2. Individual is unable to respond adequately to screening questions 3. Individual is unable to maintain focus or to sit during assessment 4. Individual has history of:…
Interventions
- BehavioralUnconscious Neuro-reinforcement
Individuals will complete an implicit fmri neuro-reinforcement task where real-time brain activity is matched to a desired activation. Individuals will also receive financial reward for activating the desired activation. Visual feedback will be presented to indicate how well individuals' brain activity matches the desired activation. Individuals will complete 1 session of neuro-reinforcement.
- BehavioralUnconscious Neuro-reinforcement
Individuals will complete an implicit fmri neuro-reinforcement task where real-time brain activity is matched to a desired activation. Individuals will also receive financial reward for activating the desired activation. Visual feedback will be presented to indicate how well individuals' brain activity matches the desired activation. Individuals will complete 3 sessions of neuro-reinforcement.
- BehavioralUnconscious Neuro-reinforcement
Individuals will complete an implicit fmri neuro-reinforcement task where real-time brain activity is matched to a desired activation. Individuals will also receive financial reward for activating the desired activation. Visual feedback will be presented to indicate how well individuals' brain activity matches the desired activation. Individuals will complete 5 sessions of neuro-reinforcement.
Location
- University of California, Los AngelesLos Angeles, California