Neural Markers of Treatment Mechanisms and Prediction of Treatment Outcomes in Social Anxiety

• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Trial end date: 2027-06-01
• Target enrollment: 0
• Participant gender: All

Summary

The purpose of this clinical trial is to answer the question: can the investigators predict which adults with social anxiety disorder (SAD) will successfully respond to treatment? To answer this question, the investigators plan to recruit 190 adult participants who experience extreme forms of social anxiety to undergo brain imaging before and after 12 weeks of group cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Adults in the SAD group who do not respond enough to group CBT may be offered the opportunity to complete an additional 12 weeks of individual CBT while receiving SSRI medication (sertraline, see below) for SAD.

Data collected from participants who experience anxiety will be compared to a group of 100 participants with little or no social anxiety, who will serve as a comparison group.

• Phase: N/A
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers?: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Details

• Lead Sponsor: Boston University Charles River Campus
• Collaborators: Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Mclean Hospital; National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
• Treatments: Sertraline

Criteria

Inclusion criteria for all participants:

(1) Any gender or race between 18-50 years old.

Additional inclusion criteria for healthy controls:

(1) Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS; Mennin et al., 2002) score <= 30, does not currently meet criteria for an Axis I psychiatric condition, as defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5; American Psychiatric Association, 2013).

Additional inclusion criteria for the social anxiety disorder (SAD) group:

1. Outpatients with a primary psychiatric complaint (designated by the patient as the most important source of current distress) of social anxiety with social interaction fear as defined by an Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS) score >= 60.

2. Overall clinical severity of at least mild as defined by Clinical Global Impressions Scale (CGI-S; Zaider et al., 2003) of at least 3.

3. Medical history interview and laboratory findings without clinically significant abnormalities.

4. Willingness and ability to participate in the informed consent process and comply with the requirements of the study protocol.

Exclusion criteria:

1. A lifetime history of bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, psychosis, delusional disorders or obsessive-compulsive disorder; an eating disorder in the past 6 months; organic brain syndrome, intellectual disability, or other cognitive dysfunction that could interfere with capacity to engage in therapy; a history of substance or alcohol abuse or dependence (other than nicotine) in the last 6 months or otherwise unable to commit to refraining from alcohol, marijuana, and stimulant use during the acute period of study participation.

2. . Patients with significant suicidal ideation Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (10 items, self-report) or who have enacted suicidal behaviors within 6 months prior to intake will be excluded from study participation and referred for appropriate clinical intervention.

3. Patients can be taking a concurrent psychotropic medication (e.g., antidepressants, anxiolytics, beta blockers, sertraline), but the dose must be stabilized for at least 2 weeks prior to initiation of randomized treatment.

4. Significant personality dysfunction likely to interfere with study participation.

5. Serious medical illness or instability for which hospitalization may be likely within the next year.

6. Patients with a current or past history of seizures.

7. Pregnant women, lactating women, and women of childbearing potential who may become pregnant.

8. Any concurrent psychotherapy initiated within 3 months of baseline, or ongoing psychotherapy of any duration directed specifically toward treatment of the social anxiety is excluded. Individuals with prior CBT experience or treatments that included cognitive and behavioral skills and exposure procedures (e.g., assertiveness and social skills trainings) will be excluded. General supportive or insight-oriented therapy initiated > 3 months prior is acceptable.

9. Prior non-response to adequately-delivered exposure (i.e., as defined by the patient's report of receiving specific and regular exposure assignments as part of a previous treatment).

10. Patients with a history of head trauma causing loss of consciousness, seizure or ongoing cognitive impairment.

11. Contraindications for MRI including metal implants, surgical clips, probability of metal fragments, or braces.