N/A N=15 Randomized Treatment

Assessing Visual Processing in High Anxiety

Anxiety

Bottom Line

View on ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT04187326 ↗

Enrolled (actual)

Serious AEs

0.0%

Results posted

Sep 2025

Primary outcome: Primary: Tolerability of the Micro Expression Training Task in Individuals With High Anxiety — 5; 6 Participants

Study Design & Population

Study type: Interventional
Phase: N/A
Interventions: Facial Microexpression Training (Behavioral)
Age: Adult · 18+ yrs
Sex: All
Sponsor: University of Massachusetts, Worcester
Primary completion: Mar 2024

Outcome Measures

Outcome	Result	p-value
PRIMARY Tolerability of the Micro Expression Training Task in Individuals With High Anxiety	5; 6	—

Summary

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.

Eligibility Criteria

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

View full record on ClinicalTrials.gov →

Data sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT04187326). 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.