Childhood Trauma and Escape Decision Dynamics

Fear Clinical Trial

— TEDDY  

Official title:

The Influence of Childhood Maltreatment on Cognitive and Reactive Fear

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Recruiting

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT04290234
• Other study ID #: TEDDY
• Status: Recruiting
• Start date: November 17, 2019
• Est. completion date: June 2020

Study information

• Verified date: February 2020
• Source: University Hospital, Bonn
• Contact: Dirk Scheele, PhD
• Phone: +49-(0)228-287
• Email: Dirk.Scheele[@]ukbonn.de
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Observational

Clinical Trial Summary

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of childhood maltreatment on cognitive and reactive fear.

Description:

Childhood maltreatment dramatically increases the risk for psychiatric disorders accompanied by profound difficulties in social interactions. However, it is still unclear how childhood maltreatment affects social interactions in adulthood. In this study, we examine how childhood maltreatment may modulate threat sensitivity assessed by the distance at which an individual flees from an approaching threat. While rapid escape decisions rely on "reactive fear" circuits, slower escape decisions are associated with "cognitive fear" circuits. Based on previous observations of altered early sensory processing, we expect that childhood maltreatment affects both cognitive and reactive fear circuits.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Recruiting
• Enrollment: 80
• Est. completion date: June 2020
• Est. primary completion date: June 2020
• Accepts healthy volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers
• Gender: All
• Age group: 18 Years to 65 Years

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• Healthy subjects with varying levels of childhood maltreatment

Exclusion Criteria:

• current psychiatric illness

• current psychiatric medication or psychotherapy

• MRI contraindication (e.g. metal in body, claustrophobia)

• pregnancy

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Child Abuse
• Fear

Intervention

Other:
• fMRI assessment of cognitive and reactive fear
An fMRI paradigm will be used to probe how childhood maltreatment may modulate the defensive survival circuitry that facilitates escape decisions when subjects encounter fast- or slow-attacking threats.

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
Germany	Department of Psychiatry, University of Bonn	Bonn

Sponsors (2)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
University Hospital, Bonn	Prof. Dean Mobbs

Country where clinical trial is conducted

Germany, 

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Neural responses in the flight initiation distance (FID) task	Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) will be performed to measure blood-oxygen-level dependent signal in a flight initiation distance (FID) task, involving fast-, medium- and slow-attacking virtual predators that elicit distinct activations in the reactive and cognitive fear circuits. Blood-oxygen-level-dependent signals to different predator velocities will be analyzed. Analyses will focus on regions-of-interest associated with the processing of cognitive fear (ventromedial prefrontal cortex, posterior cingulate cortex, hippocampus, and basolateral amygdala) and reactive fear (midbrain periaqueductal gray, central amygdala, hypothalamus, and the midcingulate cortex). To examine effects of childhood maltreatment, regression analyses with Childhood Trauma Questionnaire scores will be conducted on the second level.	fMRI paradigm with an average duration of 45 minutes
Primary	Flight distance in the flight initiation distance (FID) task	Associations between the flight distance in the FID task and childhood maltreatment will be analyzed using regression analyses with Childhood Trauma Questionnaire scores. Behavioral data will be correlated with fMRI data of the FID task.	fMRI paradigm with an average duration of 45 minutes
Primary	Difficulty ratings in the flight initiation distance (FID) task	Associations between the difficulty ratings in the FID task and childhood maltreatment will be analyzed using regression analyses with Childhood Trauma Questionnaire scores. Behavioral data will be correlated with fMRI data of the FID task.	fMRI paradigm with an average duration of 45 minutes
Primary	Confidence ratings in the flight initiation distance (FID) task	Associations between the confidence ratings in the FID task and childhood maltreatment will be analyzed using regression analyses with Childhood Trauma Questionnaire scores. Behavioral data will be correlated with fMRI data of the FID task.	fMRI paradigm with an average duration of 45 minutes