Brain scans teach anxiety patients to control emotions
NCT ID NCT06563310
First seen Jun 24, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 2 times
Summary
This study tests whether real-time brain scans (fMRI) can help young adults with anxiety learn to regulate their emotions better. Participants will practice reappraising negative thoughts while seeing their own brain activity. The goal is to understand which brain areas are involved, not to provide treatment. About 110 people with generalized anxiety, social anxiety, panic disorder, or illness anxiety disorder will take part.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- real-time fMRI neurofeedback (Veritable-NF)
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could show how neurofeedback enhances emotion regulation, potentially improving anxiety treatments.
- What could go wrong
- This is an early-phase study with only 110 participants. It focuses on brain activity changes, not direct symptom relief, and may not lead to a practical therapy.
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
-
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
-
About 110 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
-
Jan 2025
- Expected to finish
-
May 2029
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
-
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
-
18 to 24 years
- Sex
-
Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
-
Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
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: * Primary diagnosis (primary source of distress and/or interference) of generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, panic disorder or illness anxiety disorder based on structured interview. Comorbid phobic disorders allowed, but these cannot be the primary source of interference or distress due to the lowered chances of encountering anxiety-provoking stimuli during the study period * Score of 2 or more on at least 1 question from GAD/CROSS-AD composite * Medically and physically able to consent * Not regularly taking any medication, prescription or non-prescription, with psychotropic effects other than: 1. Buspirone, or antidepressant (e.g., selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) or serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI)) with stable dosage for past 4 weeks 2. The same oral hormonal contraceptive for at least 3 months * For females, not currently pregnant or actively trying to become pregnant * Ability to tolerate small, enclosed spaces without anxiety * No metals, implants or metallic substances within or on the body that might cause adverse effects to the subject in a strong magnetic field, or interfere with image acquisition (per protocol) * Size compatible with scanner gantry (per protocol) Exclusion Criteria: * Current diagnosis of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, or Bipolar Disorder * Current substance abuse or dependence (past 6 months) * Active suicidality with plan or intent * Current psychosis * History of serious neurological illness or current medical condition that could compromise brain function, such as liver failure * History of closed head injury, e.g., loss of consciousness greater (\>) approximately (\~) 5 minutes, hospitalization, neurological sequela
Get updates
Get notified about this study
Sign up to get updates when this study changes or when new studies for Anxiety are added.
Genom att skicka in godkänner du våra Användarvillkor
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.
-
The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
-
The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
-
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
-
University of Michigan
RECRUITINGAnn Arbor, Michigan, 48109, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
- Can video games calm anxious teens?
- Can a group program teach teens to cope before therapy starts?
- Could a Patient's playlist take the sting out of nerve testing?
- Three spanish group sessions put a neuroscience twist on anxiety therapy
- Can a rewired EMDR therapy ease the mental toll of migration?
- Can a cannabis tincture quiet an anxious mind?