Development and Initial Tests of Reward Re-Training: A Novel Treatment For Reward Dysfunction
Condition: Binge Eating; Binge-Eating Disorder; Bulimia Nervosa
MeSH terms: Bulimia; Feeding and Eating Disorders; Binge-Eating Disorder; Bulimia Nervosa
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      The purpose of this study is to test a novel treatment for binge eating that will be compared
      to a waitlist control group. The investigators are seeking to target factors that might
      influence binge eating by increasing reward in non-food life domains. The treatment is weekly
      for 10 weeks and will take place at Drexel University in Philadelphia.
    

Detailed description: 
      At the start of the study, you will be interviewed to determine if you are eligible to
      participate in the study.

      Once you are determined to be eligible, you will be assigned at random to a treatment group
      or a waitlist control group. The chances of being assigned to each condition are like a flip
      of a coin. If you are placed in the waitlist control group, you will complete a 10-week
      waiting period after your initial assessment, then complete another assessment and treatment
      after 10 weeks.

      First, the study will be explained to you and you will be given an opportunity to ask
      questions about the study and sign this consent form.

      You will complete the baseline assessment, which will take place in 2 sessions. The first
      session will take place at Drexel and will include behavioral tasks and surveys. The second
      session will take place at Temple University and will include an fMRI (functional magnetic
      resonance imaging) scan. Both sessions combined will take about 6 hours total. This baseline
      assessment will involve: Behavioral tasks: These are designed to measure your responses to
      food reward and other pleasant events. These tasks will be in the form of computer games
      where you will rate and sort different rewarding items. These will take place at Drexel
      University. Surveys: questions regarding demographics, disordered eating, weight history, and
      other psychological symptoms. These will take place at home if you choose to complete them
      before your assessment, or at Drexel University. fMRI task: fMRI scans will take place at
      Temple University. After consenting, an fMRI technician will review the safety checklist to
      make sure you have no metal objects in your clothing or on your body that might enter the
      scanner. Following this review, you will be taken to the MRI scanner. The scan will take
      about 1-hour. You will be asked to lie on your back on the scanner bed. You will be fit with
      a set of headphones, a microphone and goggles that are connected to a computer display. You
      will have continuous contact with the research team using the headphone and microphone. At
      any time during scanning, you can ask to be taken out of the scanner. The study involves
      lying quietly in the scanner, viewing pictures and hearing sounds while selecting answers to
      questions presented on the computer display. The scanning will also include a structural
      scan. If the computer procedures work well, the entire scanning session should last no longer
      than 60 minutes. Even if the scanning is not complete, you will be taken out of the scanner
      after 60 minutes.

      You can expect to interact in group therapy with other study participants, led by Drexel
      faculty and graduate students in private rooms at the Psychology Department of Drexel
      University. You will receive 10 sessions of weekly group treatment that are each
      approximately one hour in length. You will complete the same assessment procedure you
      completed at the beginning of treatment at mid-treatment (after session 5-with the exception
      of the fMRI tasks) and post-treatment (after session 10). All sessions and assessments will
      be audio-recorded and securely stored until the completion of study analyses. If you do not
      wish to be audio-recorded, you may not participate in the study. If you are withdrawn from
      the study and wish for your recordings to be deleted, you may request that the researchers
      delete them.
    

Intervention name(s): Group Reward Retraining
Intervention type(s): Behavioral
Intervention description(s): Adapted behavioral activation group treatment for binge eating with values and cognitive skills integrated
Other intervention name(s): behavioral activation
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary purpose: Treatment
Keywords: reward; reward dysfunction; group treatment; binge eating