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Protocol Number:
02-M-0003
- Title:
Fear Conditioning Using Computer-Generated Virtual Reality
- Number:
02-M-0003
- Summary:
The purpose of this study is to use a computer-generated virtual reality environment to study fear conditioning. Fear conditioning is used to explore the causes and persistence of anxiety and anxiety disorders.
When confronted with fearful or unpleasant events, people can develop fear of specific cues that were associated with these events as well as to the environmental context in which the events occurred via a process called classical or aversive conditioning. Advances in computer-generated visual stimulations could facilitate the design of new aversive conditioning studies. This study will develop a virtual reality environment to examine human contextual fear conditioning in the laboratory. During the procedure, moderately painful stimuli will be administered. Participants in this study will be screened with a medical history, physical examination, psychiatric evaluation, and hearing test. Participants will wear headphones and special goggles that will enable them to view a virtual reality environment. Measures will be taken during the study to see how the brain adapts to environmental stimuli.
- Sponsoring Institute:
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National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
- Recruitment Detail
- Type:
Participants currently recruited/enrolled
- Gender:
Male & Female
- Referral Letter Required:
Yes
- Population Exclusion(s):
Children
- Eligibility Criteria:
INCLUSION CRITERIA:
Subjects will be healthy volunteers ages 7-50 recruited through advertisements in the local media.
Subjects will be free of current or past psychotic disorder and organic central nervous system disorders. All children will be screened for lifetime history of psychiatric disorders using the K-SADS Interview. The interview will be administered by a trained clinician (at least master level) supervised by Dr. Pine. The children/adolescents will be able to give assent and parents will give consent.
They will have an IQ greater than 70 based on WASI.
EXCLUSION CRITERIA:
Ongoing medical illness that could interfere with the study; Current psychiatric or neurological disorder (including seizure); Past psychotic disorder; Current substance abuse; Current psychotropic medication; impaired hearing, pregnancy.
- Special Instructions:
Currently Not Provided
- Keywords:
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Stress
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Anxiety
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Adults
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Fear Conditioning
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Normal Volunteers
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Associative Learning
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Virtual Reality
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Context Conditioning
- Recruitment Keyword(s):
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Healthy Volunteer
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HV
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Normal Control
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Fear Conditioning
- Condition(s):
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Anxiety Disorder
- Investigational Drug(s):
- None
- Investigational Device(s):
- None
- Intervention(s):
- None
- Supporting Site:
- National Institute of Mental Health
- Contact(s):
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Patient Recruitment and Public Liaison Office
Building 61 10 Cloister Court Bethesda, Maryland 20892-4754 Toll Free: 1-800-411-1222 TTY: 301-594-9774 (local),1-866-411-1010 (toll free) Fax: 301-480-9793 Electronic Mail:prpl@mail.cc.nih.gov
- Citation(s):
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Fear-potentiated startle conditioning in humans: explicit and contextual cue conditioning following paired versusunpaired training
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Fear-potentiated startle in humans: effects of anticipatory anxiety on the acoustic blink reflex
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Baseline and fear-potentiated startle in panic disorder patients
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National Institutes of Health Clinical Center
Bethesda, Maryland 20892. Last update: 05/05/2009
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