Brain scans reveal why people with anxiety avoid certain situations
NCT ID NCT07203027
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study looks at how people with anxiety make decisions to avoid things that make them anxious. Researchers will use brain scans and phone tracking to see how avoidance behavior works in the lab and in real life. About 163 adults with and without anxiety will take part. The goal is to better understand the brain patterns behind avoidance, not to test a treatment.
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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 163 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Expected to start
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Jan 2027
An estimate. Start dates often move.
- Expected to finish
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Jun 2030
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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22 to 55 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: * Ability to comprehend written and spoken English * Ability to provide informed consent * Estimated intelligence quotient (IQ) \>70. * Clinically significant anxiety symptoms (scoring above clinical cutoff on at least one Inventory of Depression and Anxiety Symptoms (IDAS) anxiety-related subscale and/or OASIS total) * Significant anxiety-related avoidance (scoring 2 or above on a 0-4 scale, indicating at least "occasional" avoidance) on the avoidance-related question on the Overall Anxiety Severity and Impairment Scale (OASIS) * Functional impairment, defined as at least moderate impairment in one WHO Disability Assessment Schedule (WHODAS 2.0) domain related to anxiety. Exclusion Criteria: * Individuals younger than 22 or older than 55, * Individuals with an IQ \< 70, * A lifetime history of neurological disorder or brain damage, * Contraindications for undergoing MRI scanning, * A lifetime history or diagnosis of psychosis or bipolar disorder, * Current substance use intoxication or withdrawal, * Severe risk of suicide, or * Recent (\<3 months) changes in psychotropic medicine or psychotherapy treatment, * Ineligible at the PI's discretion, are excluded.
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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
2 sites. 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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Emory College
Atlanta, Georgia, 30322, United States
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Facility for Education and Research in Neuroscience (FERN)
Atlanta, Georgia, 30322, United States
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