Clinical trial NCT03989518: The Link Between Mental Imagery and the Reduction of Fear in Imaginal Extinction
Official title: The Link Between Mental Imagery and the Reduction of Fear in Imaginal Extinction
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Healthy Subjects
Keywords: Imaginal extinction, imaginal exposure, mental imagery
Lead sponsor: Uppsala University
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2019-06-18
Enrollment: 60
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: BASIC_SCIENCE

Brief summary: Imaginal exposure is a widely used psychological treatment technique. Imaginal extinction is an experimental analogue of imaginal exposure, that allows the study of this treatment technique under controlled circumstances (Agren, Björkstrand, \& Fredrikson, 2017). During imaginal extinction, experimentally induced fear is diminished through repeated exposure to mental imagery of the feared (conditioned) stimulus. However, it is not known to what extent fear reduction depends on the mental imagery produced during this procedure. A better understanding of the mechanisms driving the effects of imaginal exposure and the factors moderating fear reduction could have significant clinical utility, by suggesting mechanistically informed ways to improve this treatment.

Detailed description: The study takes part over three consecutive days, with fear conditioning to visual stimuli on day 1, imaginal extinction on day 2, and a fear reinstatement procedure, again to visual stimuli, on day 3. Skin conductance is used to measure fear responses.

Participants' are randomized to receive conditioning, extinction and reinstatement with either complex or simple stimuli. During imaginal extinction, imagery of each experimental stimulus is prompted through different verbal instructions.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

Age 18 or over

Fluent in Swedish

Willing and able to provide informed consent and complete study procedures

Exclusion Criteria:

Current psychiatric disorder

Use of psychotropic medication within 6 months prior to study start

Receiving psychological treatment within 6 months prior to study start

Current neurological condition

Primary outcomes:
measure: Skin conductance response (SCR)
timeFrame: Day 1
measure: Skin conductance response (SCR)
timeFrame: Day 2 (24 h after day1)
measure: Skin conductance response (SCR)
timeFrame: Day 3 (48 h after day 1)
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Fear ratings
timeFrame: Day 1
measure: State-Trait Anxiety Inventory
timeFrame: Day 1
measure: Difficulties in emotion regulation scale
timeFrame: Day 1
measure: Fear ratings
timeFrame: Day 2 (24 h after day 1)
measure: Vividness of mental imagery during imaginal extinction
timeFrame: Day 2 (24 h after day 1)
measure: The Plymouth Sensory Imagery Questionnaire
timeFrame: Day 2 (24 h after day 1)
measure: The Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire
timeFrame: Day 2 (24 h after day 1)
measure: Spontaneous use of imagery scale
timeFrame: Day 2 (24 h after day 1)
measure: Expectancy ratings
timeFrame: Day 2 (24 h after day 1)
measure: Fear ratings
timeFrame: Day 3 (48 h after day 1)
measure: Expectancy ratings
timeFrame: Day 3 (48 h after day 1)
Other outcomes:
measure: Task compliance
timeFrame: Day 1
measure: Task compliance
timeFrame: Day 2 (24 h after day 1)
measure: Task compliance
timeFrame: Day 3 (48 h after day 1)
Locations:
city: Uppsala
country: Sweden
facility: Uppsala University, Departement of Psychology
Study officials:
References:
citation: Agren T, Bjorkstrand J, Fredrikson M. Disruption of human fear reconsolidation using imaginal and in vivo extinction. Behav Brain Res. 2017 Feb 15;319:9-15. doi: 10.1016/j.bbr.2016.11.014. Epub 2016 Nov 10.