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Can a Face-Reading computer task help understand anxiety?

NCT ID NCT04187326

Knowledge-focused Sponsor: University of Massachusetts, Worcester Source: ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

What the study statuses mean

This study's is highlighted.

Recruitment status, easiest to join first

Recruiting now
This trial is taking on new participants right now.
Not yet recruiting
Registered, but not yet taking participants.
By invitation only
Not open to general applications. Only people the study team invites can take part.
Paused
Paused for now. It may or may not start again.
Ongoing
Running, but no longer taking on new participants.
Completed This study
The trial has finished. Results may not be published yet.
Stopped early
Stopped early, before it reached the end. That can be for many reasons, including safety.
Cancelled
Cancelled before anyone took part.

Expanded access (not trials)

Expanded access
Not a trial. This treatment can be requested outside a study, case by case, for people who qualify.
Expanded access (paused)
Not a trial. The treatment can normally be requested outside a study, but is unavailable right now.
Expanded access (ended)
Not a trial. The treatment could once be requested outside a study, but no longer can.
Approved
The treatment has been approved, so it is available normally rather than through this programme.

When the status isn't known

Details not published
The full record has not been published yet, so there is little to show here.
Status unknown
This status has not been confirmed recently, so it may be out of date.

First seen Jun 26, 2026 · Last updated Jun 26, 2026

Summary

This study looked at how people with high anxiety process emotional faces, since they often struggle to tell safe from threatening situations. Twenty-three young adults completed brain scans and some returned months later for a computer training task that teaches them to spot tiny changes in facial expressions. The goal was to understand visual system function, not to treat anxiety directly.

What this could mean

Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.

Active substance
Facial Microexpression Training (computer-based task)
What this could lead to
If successful, this research could point toward new therapies that train the visual system to better distinguish safe from threatening faces in people at risk for anxiety disorders.
What could go wrong
This is a very small, early-stage study with only 23 participants, and the training task is exploratory. Results may not apply to everyone with anxiety, and the intervention is brief and limited.

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

23 people

The number who actually took part.

Started

Mar 2021

Finished

Mar 2024

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 30 years

Sex

Anyone

Healthy volunteers

Accepted

You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.

Show 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: * Young adults varying continuously in trait anxiety as assessed by the Spielberger State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). * HTA participants with STAI trait scores of ≥44 Exclusion Criteria: * contraindication to MRI * history of head trauma or loss of consciousness * major medical or neurological illness * current psychiatric medication usage or use in the last three months * alcohol/substance abuse or dependence and/or illicit substance use (excepting cannabis) in the last three months

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Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

anxiety anxiety disorder

As listed by the trial registrant

The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.

Anxiety

Contacts and locations

Locations

  • University of Massachusetts Chan School of Medicine

    Worcester, Massachusetts, 01655, United States

More trials for these conditions

Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.