Attention Bias Modification Treatment for Warzone-Related Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
• Interventions: Behavioral: Attention Bias Modification Training Protocol

• Registration Number: NCT01564667
• Lead Sponsor: Creighton University

Brief Summary

Veterans with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) will be randomly assigned to either Attention Bias Modification Treatment (ABMT) designed to reduce bias toward threat or a placebo control condition not designed to change attention patterns. Outcome measures will be PTSD, anxiety, depression, and alexithymia symptoms as measured by standard psychological interviews and questionnaires. Participants will also be invited to participate in physiological testing before and after receiving AMBT or placebo to serve as additional outcome measures and assess brain functioning, heart rate, and muscle tension.

The investigators expect to see significant PTSD symptom reduction in the Attention Bias Modification Treatment (ABMT) group relative to the placebo control group in which no symptomatic relief is expected. At the end of the study, if ABMT is shown to be effective, we will offer active ABMT to those participants randomly assigned to the placebo arm if they would like to receive the treatment.

Detailed Description

Not available

Study Timeline

• Study First Submitted: 2012-03-26
• Study First Submitted QC: 2012-03-27
• Study First Posted: 2012-03-28
• Study Start: 2012-04
• Primary Completion: 2014-12
• Study Completion: 2014-12
• Status Verified: 2016-01
• Last Update Submitted: 2016-01-13
• Last Update Posted: 2016-01-14

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 51

Inclusion Criteria

• Veterans with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) serving in United States Military after March 20, 2003.

Exclusion Criteria

• Schizophrenia
• Bipolar Disorder
• Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
• Head Injury with Loss of Consciousness for more than 30 minutes
• Active Alcohol/Substance Dependence in past 6 months

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Attention Bias Modification Treatment	Attention Bias Modification Training Protocol	Attention bias modification training using a computerized spatial attention task (dot-probe) designed to alter threat-bias attention patterns away from threat.
Attentional Control Training	Attention Bias Modification Training Protocol	Attention control training using a computerized spatial attention taks (dot-probe) counter balances training toward and away from threat.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Will Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Symptom decrease with intervention	8 weeks	Using Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS): The clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS) is a 30-item structured interview that corresponds to the DSM-IV criteria for PTSD (Blake, Weathers, Nagy, Kaloupek, Charney, \& Keane, 1995) to assess symptoms of PTSD outcome.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Other psychiatics symptoms (ie Depression, Anger, Anxiety)	8 weeks	To assess potential decrease in psychiatric symptoms associated with PTSD, by comparing pre intervention and post intervention scores on psychological measures of deprssion, anger and anxiety.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Creighton University; 🇺🇸 Omaha, Nebraska, United States