19 Clinical Trials for Various Conditions
The purpose of this center grant is to translate basic behavioral science on habituation theory into clinical intervention using a vertical hierarchical approach from laboratory studies to field studies to the clinical intervention to improve weight loss outcomes in pediatric obesity treatment.
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is one of the most common developmental disabilities and often people with ASD have sensory processing disorders. These sensory processing disorders are often associated with problem behaviors and, more recently, have been connected to anxiety disorders in people with ASD. While it has been suggested that sensory processing responses in ASD could be malleable, current treatment strategies for sensory processing disorders in ASD have inconsistent results or lack large-sample sized data. This investigation will explore changes in neurophysiological activity in people with ASD and neurotypical peers after they are exposed to an unpleasant visual stimulus through a virtual reality systematic desensitization protocol. 30 people with ASD and 30 neurotypical people between the ages 7 - 35 will be recruited. The study have, 1) a practice magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) visit with questionnaires, 2) a per-exposure MRI with structural and functional MRI collections, 3) a virtual reality systematic desensitization session where we will record the participant's physiological response using an Emotibit device, and 4) a post-exposure MRI session with structural and functional MRI collections. This investigation aims to quantify changes in neurophysiological responses in order to determine the effect of systematic desensitization.
Mal de Debarquement Syndrome (MdDS) is an under-recognized but nevertheless common balance disorder, which in most cases occurs after exposure to prolonged passive motion. The current treatment approaches focus on reducing symptoms, but they can be retriggered. This project aims to shift the focus of MdDS treatment to permanently eliminating the symptom trigger while also minimizing symptoms.
The main purpose of this study is to learn about the effects of repeated exposure to sleep disruption (3 cycles of sleep disruption, each consisting of three days in a row where sleep is shortened and disrupted, followed by a single night of recovery sleep) on inflammation, mood, and pain processing (experiences/perceptions of pain). Purpose of this research project is to understand the mechanisms of how sleep disruption may change mood and the experience of pain. Understanding those mechanisms is important to develop interventions that may help to reduce the effects of sleep disruption on mood and pain.
The study is designed to assess habituation of behavioral responding for food as risk factors for increases in Standardized Body Mass Index (zBMI) over two years in non-overweight children.
Veterans possess significant risk factors for self-directed violence (SDV). For example, depressed Veterans are at a greater risk for SDV than the general population. Although depressed male Veterans die by suicide at a higher rate than do their female counterparts (Zivin et al., 2007), female Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF) Veterans are at higher risk for depression than males (Seal et al., 2009). Joiner's (2005) theory states that suicidal individuals (a) perceive themselves to be unbearable burdens onto others; (b) view their efforts at establishing and maintaining social connections as having been thwarted or failed; and (c) have developed the ability to engage in SDV due to from increased habituation to pain. This two-part study uses semi-structured interviews in an effort to determine the extent to which Joiner's theory is applicable to OEF/OIF Veterans. Part I of this study, which has been completed, assessed the components of this theory among primarily male OEF/OIF Veterans. Part II of this study is assessing this theory's components among female OEF/OIF Veterans. Participants were recruited from the female OEF/OIF Veteran population receiving services through the Eastern Colorado Health Care System (ECHCS). Comparisons across the interview responses will be made to identify commonalities among the participants' experiences.
The purpose of this study is to compare two exposure-based behavioral group treatments for public speaking anxiety. Specifically, exposure within the context of psychological acceptance will be compared to exposure within a standard habituation context. It is hypothesized that participants receiving exposure within the context of psychological acceptance will experience a greater decrease in anxiety and greater improvement in quality of life compared to the habituation-based group.
The purpose of this study is to examine if chewing gum before an eating bout will increase the rate of habituation and subsequently reduce energy intake within the eating bout.
Increasing exposure to a single orosensory cue without ingestion of additional energy may promote an increased rate of habituation, more rapid satiation, and reduced intake. This exposure can occur via smell (olfactory) and taste (gustatory) systems.It is not clear if repeated exposure via the combined olfactory and gustatory systems increases the rate of habituation more so than repeated exposure through one of these systems. Thus, the purpose of this investigation is to examine the amount of salivation occurring in 12 trials of exposure to a food via the olfactory, gustatory, and combined olfactory and gustatory systems. The primary dependent variable will be the amount of salivation in the 12 trials. It is hypothesized that a more rapid decrease in salivation will occur across trials in the combined olfactory and gustatory exposure as compared to the other two conditions, indicating a more rapid rate of habituation.
This study will examine differences in habituation to foods high in sugar and fat content versus those that are not, in normal weight women.
The study will compare the effects that two different approaches of exposure therapy have on reducing fear and anxiety in individuals with social anxiety disorder or panic disorder.
The investigators plan to implement a novel limited RED (high-energy-dense) food variety prescription within a 18-month FBT to examine its effect on 18-month body mass index (BMI). This will be the first randomized control trial to examine how habituation rate, assessed via salivary habituation, mediates reduction in RED food intake, overall energy intake, and reductions in BMI over time, as well as if baseline habituation rate is a behavioral phenotype that moderates BMI outcomes. One hundred fifty-six children aged 8 to 12 years at \> 85th percentile BMI will be randomized to one of two, 18-month interventions compared in our 6-month pilot study: FBT (family-based behavioral obesity treatment) or FBT+Variety. Child and adult caregiver assessments will occur at 0, 6, 12, and 18 months on anthropometrics, dietary intake (RED food variety, energy, and diet quality), habituation, and physical activity.
The proposed study has three distinct but related research objectives. The first goal is to measure physiological correlates of successful treatment with Prolonged Exposure (PE) therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Individuals with PTSD often experience elevated heart rates and other objectively measurable signs of anxiety when confronted with safe situations that remind them of past dangerous situations. We will measure physiological responses and compare the outcomes to patient's self reported subjective accounts of symptom improvement on traditional measures of PTSD. Developing a way to measure objective gains in symptoms improvement may help researchers who are studying ways to improve PTSD treatment. The second goal of the study is to investigate if yohimbine, a drug found to promote a specific type of learning, will improve treatment outcomes for veterans in PTSD treatment. The third goal is to investigate if ability to get used to loud startling audio tones correlates to baseline PTSD pathology and treatment outcomes for PE. This goal represents an important step forward in understanding characteristics of heritable traits that are related PTSD. It is significant because such research may one day lead to the development of individual responder policies that will assist patients by individualizing treatment plans based on personal characteristics.
This study is concerned with psychological and physiological development in infants. Specifically, researchers are interested in when and how babies are able to group similar objects, like animals or vehicles, into the same category. This study will investigate whether motion aids in the categorization process and allows for earlier demonstration of this competency. Previous studies have demonstrated that the ability to categorize stationary objects or images of objects, is present by 6 months of age. This study is made up of three experiments to test: 1. The infant's ability to categorize photographic stimuli. 2. The infant's ability to categorize moving stimuli. 3. The infant's ability to transfer knowledge from moving to photographic stimuli. Initially, the abilities of 3- and 6-month-old infants will be compared. It is also possible that 9-month-old infants will be tested. Data will consist of looking at time measures (level of attention to displays) and heart rate. The ability of infants to transfer category knowledge will support the view that motion is a source of information for object categorization.
This study will evaluate emotional processing biases in the brain while viewing facial expressions in adults with current or remitted major depressive disorder and healthy volunteers.
The purpose of this study is to optimize an obesity treatment program targeting overweight 8-12 year old children using "Cue Exposure Training".
This study compares the efficacy of low and high frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) as a means of treating subjects with schizophrenia. Magnetic pulses delivered over the scalp cause brain activity. This activity has been shown to help decrease the intensity and frequency of auditory hallucinations (AH) in schizophrenia. The investigators will compare whether low or high frequencies work best. The investigators will also examine what changes occur in the brain that are related to improvement.
This research is being done to evaluate if NRP104 is a safe drug. The other purpose is to learn if NRP104 produces a high and any other effects like amphetamine and other stimulant drugs that are abused. This information will give some indication if NRP104 can be abused. NRP104 is an investigational drug. This means that it has not been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Healthy people, between the ages of 18 and 55 with histories of substance abuse that include stimulant drugs, may join. Amphetamines are drugs that are used most often to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children, to treat narcolepsy (excessive sleepiness) and for weight loss.
This research is being done to evaluate if NRP 104 is a safe drug. The other purpose is to learn if NRP104, when injected into a vein, produces a high and any other effects like amphetamine and other stimulant drugs that are abused. This information will give some indication if NRP104 can be abused. Healthy people, between the ages of 18 and 55 with histories of substance abuse that include stimulant drugs, may join. Amphetamines are drugs that are used most often to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children, to treat narcolepsy (excessive sleepiness) and for weight loss.