View clinical trials related to Phobia.
Filter by:The aim of the study is to transfer the rTMS stimulation protocol by Raij et al. (2018) into a therapeutic setting to improve exposure therapy in acrophobic patients. The quasi-randomized, placebo-controlled and double-blinded study will include 88 patients with height phobia (according to DSM 5). All participants will perform two exposure sessions in virtual reality (VR). Before exposure therapy, one group will receive verum rTMS of the left frontal cortex, which is indirectly functionally linked to the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (Raij et al., 2018). The control group will receive sham stimulation. A structural MRI and a TMS navigation system will be used for precise localization of the left FC. Anxiety symptoms will be measured using subjective ratings (e.g. Acrophobia Questionnaire) and the behavioural approach task (BAT) in VR and in real life before and after the treatment, and at 6 months follow-up. Furthermore, blood samples will be collected before rTMS and after exposure treatment to assess epigenetic and gene expression based changes.
Topical steroids are an important component of treatment for many dermatological conditions, however 'Corticosteroid phobia' is a significant factor contributing to non adherence to prescribed therapy. The primary aim of this study is to determine the effectiveness of targeted education, and involvement in a moderated social forum in reducing steroid phobia as assessed by the TOPICOP© score. Secondary objectives include determining if a decrease in TOPICOP© score correlates to an increase in compliance, or an improvement in quality of life.
Specific phobias and other anxiety disorders represent a major mental health problem, and present a significant challenge to researchers because effective treatment usually involves repeated exposure to feared stimuli, and the high levels of associated distress can lead to termination of treatment. Recent advances in computational functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) provide a method by which individuals may be unconsciously exposed to fearful stimuli, leading to effective fear reduction while eliminating a primary cause of attrition. The objective of the current study is to use the novel approach of neuro-reinforcement based on decoded fMRI information to reduce fear responses to fearful stimuli (e.g., spiders, heights) in individuals with phobias, directly and unconsciously in the brain, without repeatedly exposing participants to their feared stimuli. Participants will be randomized into one of three groups of varying neuro-reinforcement sessions (1, 3, or 5). They will complete tests of subjective fear and directed attention while being scanned by fMRI to measure engagement of amygdala activity to fearful stimuli as well as measured through other indicators of fear such as skin conductance response.
Anxiety is among the most prevalent, costly and disabling illnesses and tends emerge early in childhood. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is the first-line treatment for early life anxiety, but as many as 40% of young patients who receive CBT fail to get better. The proposed study will examine brain changes marking positive response to CBT for anxiety and how these changes may differ in children compared adolescents. By helping us to understand how CBT works, this study will pave the way for new treatments to stop anxiety early.
This study investigates the beneficial effects of prefrontal brain stimulation (with a facilitating TMS protocol) before exposure therapy in acrophobic patients. The two exposure sessions were realized in virtual reality. Before and after therapy, the phobic symptoms were measured on a subjective, behavioral and physiological level. The placebo-controlled single blinded study includes 50 phobic patients, which were randomized into verum or sham TMS.
The aim of this prospective, double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized study is to investigate if glucocorticoid treatment, in combination with exposure therapy, helps to reduce phobic fear in patients with phobia.