Education and Training
Using the Neuroscience of Fear Extinction for Anxiety Reduction
Social anxiety disorder affects as many as 12% of Americans, resulting in significant distress and disability. Although exposure therapy is one of the best treatments available, as many as 25% of patients do not respond and we do not know why. Extinction learning is thought to be the mechanism of exposure therapy, and the neuroscience of extinction learning has advanced significantly since exposure therapy was developed; however, there has been little application towards improved clinical outcomes.
This project aims to improve exposure therapy response for patients with social anxiety disorder by directly linking exposure therapy response to the neurobiology of extinction learning. It also aims to increase our scientific understanding of how brain circuits work to support extinction learning. To do this, 80 adults with social anxiety disorder will randomly be assigned to either receive exposure therapy right away, or to wait before therapy. Participants will all complete a functional magnetic resonance imaging scan to assess extinction learning before the therapy.
Stanford is currently not accepting patients for this trial.
Intervention(s):
- behavioral: Coordinated Anxiety Learning and Management (CALM)
Eligibility
Inclusion Criteria:
- age 18-50
- primary diagnosis of social anxiety disorder
- fluent spoken and written English
- able to provide informed consent.
Exclusion Criteria:
- history of mania or psychosis
- current moderate or severe substance use disorder
- current major depression greater than moderate severity
- high risk for suicide
- prior traumatic brain injury with loss of consciousness >5 minutes
- general medical condition or impediment to vision, hearing, or motor function likely
to interfere with assessments
- prior exposure therapy (>2 sessions)
- current use of psychotropic medication
- current psychotherapy other than couples counseling
- post-menopausal status
- pregnancy
Ages Eligible for Study
18 Years - 50 Years
Genders Eligible for Study
All
Not currently accepting new patients for this trial
Contact Information
Stanford University
School of Medicine
300 Pasteur Drive
Stanford,
CA
94305
Tali M Ball, PhD
Not Recruiting