Home › Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder › NCT05120635
Intracranial Neurophysiological Signatures of Fear and Anxiety in Humans
Who can join
Ages 18 to 70 · All sexes · Healthy volunteers welcome
Full eligibility criteria
Inclusion Criteria: * 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 Exclusion Criteria: * 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
About the study
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.
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.
What is being tested
- Deep Brain Stimulation (device)
- Virtual and augmented reality tasks (behavioral)
Sponsor: Duke University · Participants: 80 · Started: Oct 1, 2021
Contact the study team
- Aaron Halvorsen, PhD · Phone: 9196812577
Official record on ClinicalTrials.gov — NCT05120635
Locations in the U.S.
| California | University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles |
| North Carolina | Duke University Health System, Durham |
Conditions
From ClinicalTrials.gov, data retrieved Sep 29, 2026. Each study sets its own eligibility; the study team decides who can join.