Performance Anxiety
Conditions
Brief summary
Anxiety disorders are common and impairing. Although exposure therapy is one of the most effective treatments for anxiety, some individuals do not fully respond to treatment, and these individual differences are not well understood. Exposure therapy involves repeated, deliberate, safe engagement with a feared stimulus without the feared outcome occurring. This treatment is thought to work through a type of emotional learning called fear extinction. This study aims to look at links between fear extinction learning and exposure success, with the overall goal of better understanding who is likely to respond best to exposure therapy and why.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALMassed speech exposure session
One session consisting of 4 speech exposures, each 5 minutes long.
Sponsors
University of California, San Diego
Study design
Observational model
CASE_ONLY
Time perspective
CROSS_SECTIONAL
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 55 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* Score of at least 20 on the PRCS * Age 18-55 * English fluency
Exclusion criteria
* Psychotropic medication use in the past 4 weeks * Past experience with exposure based therapy * History of bipolar disorder, psychotic disorder, or substance dependence * Current major depressive disorder of greater than moderate severity (defined as a score on the 9 item Patient Health Questionnaire of greater than 14) * Clinically significant suicidal or homicidal ideation * Non-removable ferrous metal * Current significant neurological conditions * History of loss of consciousness greater than 5 minutes duration * Pregnant * Claustrophobic
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change in peak Subjective Unit of Distress (SUDS) rating from first to fourth (last) exposure | 90 minutes | Participants will complete 4 exposures during one 90 minute session. Change in the peak ratings on the final exposure relative to the first exposure will be the outcome measure. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Change from baseline on the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS) at 2 weeks | Baseline, week 2 |
| Change from baseline on the Personal Report of Confidence as a Speaker (PRCS) at 2 weeks | Baseline, week 2 |
Other
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Change from baseline on the Sheehan Disability Scale (SDS) at week 2 | Baseline, week 2 |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed