Targeting Cognitive Immunization in Depression

Major Depressive Disorder Clinical Trial

Official title:

How Can Change of Dysfunctional Expectations in Major Depression be Enhanced? An Experimental Study Targeting Cognitive Immunization

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT03460574
• Other study ID #: 2017-39k
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: October 14, 2017
• Est. completion date: August 21, 2018

Study information

• Verified date: August 2018
• Source: Philipps University Marburg Medical Center
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

Research has shown that people suffering from MDD tend to maintain dysfunctional expectations despite experiences that disconfirm expectations. Recently, it has been shown that this persistence of expectations is due to maladaptive information processing involving "cognitive immunization". This experimental study aims at testing three different strategies to inhibit cognitive immunization, in order to enhance expectation change.

Description:

It appears adaptive to change one's expectations when continuously gaining expectation-disconfirming experiences; however, research has shown that people suffering from MDD have difficulty in changing their expectations after experiences that disconfirm expectations. Recently, the investigators have shown that this persistence of expectations is due to maladaptive information processing involving "cognitive immunization", defined as a cognitive reappraisal of expectation-disconfirming experiences in such a way that the individual's expectations are maintained. In view of psychotherapeutic interventions aiming to modify patients' dysfunctional expectations, effective strategies to inhibit cognitive immunization strategies need to be identified. Therefore, the aim of this study was to compare different immunization-inhibiting strategies with regard to their effectivity in enhancing expectation change. For this purpose, the investigators use a standardized experimental paradigm, which was developed and validated in a previous study.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 135
• Est. completion date: August 21, 2018
• Est. primary completion date: April 30, 2018
• Accepts healthy volunteers: No
• Gender: All
• Age group: 18 Years and older

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• current diagnosis of Major Depressive Disorder

• at least 18 years old

• sufficient German language knowledge

Exclusion Criteria:

• none

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Depression
• Depressive Disorder
• Depressive Disorder, Major
• Major Depressive Disorder

Intervention

Behavioral:
• INFORMATION
After receiving expectation-disconfirming positive performance feedback, participants receive standardized information that stresses the relevance of this experience. In particular, participants are told that the performance test they worked on is highly relevant for both professional success and personal life satisfaction.
• SALIENCE
After receiving expectation-disconfirming positive performance feedback, partcipants in this condition are instructed to remember how well they performed on the performance test. Using a visual analogue scale, they were asked to specify how they performed relative to the other participants.
• ATTENTION
Before working on the performance test, participants are instructed to pay attention to the feedback they receive. In particular, they are asked to enter what would be a personally good result for them. It is supposed that this shift of attention increases the salience of the expectation-disconfirming feedback.
• CONTROL
This group does not receive any further intervention. Instead, participants of this group pass through the standard procedure of the EXPEC paradigm.

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
Germany	Schoen Klinik Bad Arolsen	Bad Arolsen	Hessen

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
Philipps University Marburg Medical Center

Country where clinical trial is conducted

Germany, 

References & Publications (1)

Kube T, Rief W, Gollwitzer M, Glombiewski JA. Introducing an EXperimental Paradigm to investigate Expectation Change (EXPEC). J Behav Ther Exp Psychiatry. 2018 Jun;59:92-99. doi: 10.1016/j.jbtep.2017.12.002. Epub 2017 Dec 12. — View Citation

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Performance Expectations Scale - generalized	Change from Baseline to Postassessment in generalized performance expectations	Directly prior to the performance test and directly after completing the performance test
Secondary	Performance Expectations Scale - task-specific	Change from Baseline to Postassessment in task-specific performance expectations	Directly prior to the performance test and directly after completing the performance test