Intracranial Neurophysiological Signatures of Fear and Anxiety in Humans
Key facts
- Who runs it
- Duke University
- Where
- Durham and Los Angeles, United StatesSee the 2 sites
- Trial code
- Status
- Recruiting
- People taking part
- 80 people, planned
- Started
- 1 Oct 2021
- Expected to end
- 31 May 2027
- Type of study
- Interventional, 2 groups
- Treatments tested
- Deep Brain Stimulation
- Virtual and augmented reality tasks
- Record updated
- 31 August 2026
Who can take part
- Age
- 18 years to 70 years
- Sex
- Women and men
- Healthy volunteers
- Can take part
The registry criteria, word for word
Show all 10 criteriaShow less
Who can take part
- 18 years of age or older
- Has undergone acute depth or chronic responsive neurostimulation (RNS) electrode placement
- Willing to provide informed consent and participate in the study
- Ability to read and write English fluently
Who cannot take part
- Unwilling to provide informed consent
- Has not undergone acute depth or chronic responsive neurostimulation (RNS) electrode placement
- Pregnant women
- Participants with active psychosis
- Participants with suicidal ideation
- Participants with substance abuse issues
Check if you might fit
Answer for yourself. This is not a decision: only the study team can say whether you can take part.
- Are you between 18 and 70 years old?
Where in United States
- Duke University Health SystemDurham, United StatesContact: Gabriela VilchezTaking people
- University of California, Los AngelesLos Angeles, United StatesContact: Sonja HillerTaking people
About the trial
What the trial wants to find out
Anxiety disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) affect a large number of individuals with a significant portion of patients failing to improve with current treatments.
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The purpose of this study is to understand the brain mechanisms that produce fear and anxiety in humans. To accomplish this goal, we will measure the brain activity along with the heart rate and skin perspiration of patients while they are completing tasks on a computer. Some of the tasks will also use a virtual reality headset and transport the patient in a video game-like environment. These tasks will expose the participants to various levels of fear-provoking images. Participants with responsive neurostimulation (RNS) implants will be enrolled under Pro00117931 at Duke, but their results for fear and anxiety tasks will be reported under NCT05120635.
The 2 groups in the trial
- EMU ParticipantsOther group
Subjects participating in the study at the Epilepsy Monitoring Unity (EMU).
Treatment: Deep Brain Stimulation and Virtual and augmented reality tasks
- RNS ParticipantsOther group
Subjects with RNS implants.
Treatment: Deep Brain Stimulation and Virtual and augmented reality tasks
Questions to ask the study team
- How often do I need to come in, and for how long each time?
- Are travel costs paid?
- Can I keep my own doctor?
- What happens if I want to stop?
Contact the study team: see the registry record → Contacts and Locations
Print a page for my doctorData and sources
- Registry record
- Listed on ClinicalTrials.gov.
- Fit questions
- Built from NCT05120635, who can take part
- Record updated
- 31 August 2026