N/A
N=15
Adolescent Attention to Emotion Study
Depression
Bottom Line
View on ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT04105868 ↗Enrolled (actual)
15
Serious AEs
0.0%
Results posted
Nov 2025
Primary outcome: Primary: Affect-biased Attention Following Neurofeedback (Immediately Post-Intervention) — .41 Proportion (0-1) — p=.004
Study Design & Population
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- N/A
- Interventions
- Neurofeedback (Other)
- Age
- Pediatric · 13+ yrs
- Sex
- Female
- Sponsor
- University of Pittsburgh
- Primary completion
- Sep 2024
Outcome Measures
| Outcome | Result | p-value |
|---|---|---|
| PRIMARY Affect-biased Attention Following Neurofeedback (Immediately Post-Intervention) |
.41 | .004 sig |
| SECONDARY Sadness Ratings Following Laboratory Stressor (Immediately Post-Stressor) |
2.80 | .25 |
| SECONDARY Anxiety Rating Following Laboratory Stressor (Immediately Post-Stressor) |
3.29 | .471 |
Summary
Rates of depression increase rapidly during adolescence, especially for girls, and, thus, research is needed to spur the development of novel interventions to prevent adolescent depression. This project seeks to determine if a novel visuocortical probe of affect-biased attention (i.e., steady-state visual evoked potentials derived from EEG) can 1) be used to prospectively predict depression using a multi-wave repeated measures design and 2) modify affect-biased attention and buffer subsequent mood reactivity using real time neurofeedback. This work could ultimately lead to improved identification of adolescents who are at high risk for depression and directly inform the development of mechanistic treatment targets to be used in personalized intervention prescriptions for high-risk youth.
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria
- Participants will include 90 female adolescents ages 13 years 0 months through 15 years 11 months at study entry.
Exclusion Criteria
- Lifetime history of any Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) 5 depressive disorder
- Lifetime history of taking antidepressants [e.g., selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRIs)]
- Lifetime history of a DSM 5 psychotic, bipolar, or autistic spectrum disorder.
- Presence of EEG contraindications (e.g., personal lifetime history of seizures or family history of hereditary epilepsy).
- Being pre-pubertal
- Lifetime history of a neurological or serious medical condition.
- Lifetime history of head injury or congenital neurological anomalies (based on parent report).
- Intelligence quotient (IQ) less than 80, as assessed using the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence (WASI).
- Uncorrected visual disturbance
- Being acutely suicidal or at risk for harm to self or others.
Data sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT04105868). Outcome figures and adverse-event rates are extracted automatically from the registry's posted results and are provided for clinician reference, not as a substitute for the primary publication.