performance anxiety, social anxiety disorder, social phobia, speech anxiety social anxiety
Conditions
Interventions
Participants will receive brief standardized exposure consisting of two exposure sessions one week apart in which participants give a speech in front of an audience and a video camera. The first expos
Sponsors
Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen
Eligibility
Age
18 Years to 64 Years
Inclusion criteria
Inclusion criteria: A. 18-45 years old B. Meeting the DSM-5 criteria for SAD as assessed with the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI), with a predominant fear of public speaking C. Self-reported SAD symptoms above clinical cut-off (score > 30 on the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale) D. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) compatible E. tACS compatible
Exclusion criteria
Exclusion criteria: A. Prior non-response to exposure therapy (i.c. speech exposure) for SAD symptoms, as defined by the subject's report of receiving specific and regular exposure assignments as part of previous therapy B. Entry of subjects with other mood or anxiety disorders will be permitted in order to increase accrual of a clinically relevant sample; however, in cases where SAD is not judged to be the predominant disorder, participants will not be eligible C. Psychosis or delusion disorders (current or in the past) D. Subjects with significant suicide ideations or who have enacted suicidal behaviors within 6 months prior to intake will be excluded from participation and referred for appropriate clinical intervention E. Intellectual disability F. Substance or alcohol dependence G. Somatic illness H. Pregnancy or lactation I. Antipsychotic medication J. Participants that use antidepressants or benzodiazepines will not be excluded, but have to be on a stable dose for at least 6 weeks prior to enrollment K. Insufficient ability to speak and write DutchL. Subjects who are far- or near-sighted outside of the -3 to +3 optometric range can only participate if they wear contact lenses during Day 2 and Day 3
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| The main outcome of the study is subjective anxiety during the speech delivery as assessed with subjective units of distress ratings. | — |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Additional parameters are self-reported social anxiety symptoms (via the Social Phobia Scale questionnaire), in-session avoidance behaviour (body posture, speech prosody, eye gaze), magnetic resonance imaging scans, physiological measures (heart rate, skin conductance, salivary testosterone and cortisol), implicit measures of approach-avoidance biases to emotional faces (via the computerized Approach-Avoidance Task), and computational estimates of learning rate adaptation to volatility (via the computerized Reversal Learning Task). | — |
Countries
Netherlands
Contacts
Public ContactM Carneiro de Andrade
Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen
Outcome results
None listed