Phase II Efficacy Study of Gaze-Contingent Music Therapy Augmentation of CBT for Pediatric Anxiety
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Summary
Background: Anxiety disorders are becoming more common among children and teenagers. Anxiety can lead to long-term physical and mental problems, such as depression. Treatments for anxiety disorders include medications as well as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT); CBT is a form of talking therapy. Both approaches work in only about 50 percent of cases. A new approach, called gaze-contingent music reward therapy (GCMRT), may help. Objective: To find out whether GCMRT combined with CBT is more effective than CBT alone. Eligibility: Children aged 8 to 17 years with separation anxiety disorder; generalized anxiety disorder; or social anxiety disorder. They must be enrolled in protocol 01-M-0192. Design: Participants will come to the clinic once a week for 4 weeks for CBT. Sometimes the participant will meet with the doctor alone; sometimes their parent may be present. They will do some computer-based tasks: They may be asked to push a button when a target appears; they may look at pictures of faces while the computer tracks their eye movements. Participants will take questionnaires each week. They will answer questions about their anxiety symptoms, feelings, and behavior. For the next 8 weeks, participants will participate in both CBT and 1 of 2 types of GCMRT. GCMRT is a computer-based task. Participants will look at pictures with many faces in them; while they do this, pleasant music will play and stop playing over a 12-minute period. Participants will have a final visit in week 13. They will take questionnaires. They will do final research tasks. Each visit lasts about 2 hours....
Description
Study Description: This study compares the efficacy of Gaze-Contingent Music Reward Therapy (GCMRT) and a control form of GCMRT, both added to concurrent therapy. Efficacy will be examined for the severity of clinician-rated anxiety in medication-free children and adolescents with an anxiety disorder. For concurrent therapy, all patients will receive Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). With this design, efficacy is based on comparison of groups receiving CBT augmented with either active or control forms of GCMRT. A total of 150 patients will be enrolled in the study and will begin CBT therapy…
Eligibility
- Age range
- 8–17 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- No
* INCLUSION CRITERIA: In order to be eligible to participate in this study, an individual must meet all of the following criteria: 1. Ability of subject and parent to understand the study and the willingness to assent/consent into the study. 2. Males and females; Age 8-17 3. Clinician confirmed diagnosis of ongoing separation anxiety disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, or social anxiety disorder. A clinician will review a KSADS-PL DSM-5 (November 2016) (Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School Aged Children) interview, which will have occurred on Protocol 01-M…
Interventions
- BehavioralGaze-Contingent Music Reward Therapy
All subjects will receive CBT and will be randomized to either active or control forms of GCMRT. This involves the monitoring of a patient s eye-movements during the free-viewing of computer-displayed matrices of faces expressing various emotions in tandem with the playing of pleasant music. In the active form of the therapy, music stops when subjects view negative valence faces, whereas in the control condition, music plays continuously. Subjects undergo 12 weeks of CBT, where GCMRT is delivered in the last eight weeks of therapy.
Location
- National Institutes of Health Clinical CenterBethesda, Maryland