Quick brain training may ease anxiety about the unknown
NCT ID NCT06962527
First seen Jun 25, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study tests whether a brief, self-guided computer program can alter how people with anxiety and intolerance of uncertainty make decisions when outcomes are unclear. Researchers will measure changes in brain activity and decision-making before and after the 30-minute session. The goal is to understand if such a simple intervention can shift how the brain processes ambiguity.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Uncertainty-focused single session intervention
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could point toward a quick, low-cost way to help people with anxiety become more comfortable with uncertainty.
- What could go wrong
- This is an early-stage study with only 140 participants, and the intervention is a single 30-minute session—so any benefits may be small or short-lived.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 140 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Jul 2025
- Expected to finish
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Dec 2029
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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25 to 60 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: 1. Ages 25 to 60 2. Right-handed 3. Ability to read and write English 4. Capacity to provide informed consent 5. Intolerance of uncertainty score ≥ -0.5 standard deviation below the mean (31st percentile) Exclusion Criteria: 1. Personal history of psychosis, mania, or hypomania 2. Personal history of autism spectrum disorder 3. IQ \< 80 as determined by the Wechsler Test of Adult Reading 4. Head injury with greater than 120 seconds loss of consciousness 5. Neurological condition (e.g., epilepsy, Parkinson's, cerebral palsy, history of stroke) 6. Currently pregnant 7. Use of any implanted electrical device (e.g., pacemaker, spinal stimulator, vagal nerve stimulator, Inspire sleep apnea device, etc.).
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Northwestern University
RECRUITINGChicago, Illinois, 60611, United States
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