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Basic and Applied Research on Extinction Bursts

Who can join

Ages 3 to 17 · All sexes · Healthy volunteers welcome

Inclusion Criteria:

1. children aged 3 to 17;
2. problem behavior that occurs at least 10 times a day, despite previous treatment;
3. problem behavior maintained by social positive reinforcement;
4. stable protective supports for self-injurious behavior (e.g., helmet) with no anticipated changes during enrollment;
5. on a stable psychoactive drug regimen for at least 10 half-lives per drug or drug free;
6. stable educational plan and placement with no anticipated changes during the child's treatment.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. patients currently receiving 15 or more hours per week of treatment for their problem behavior;
2. DSM-5 diagnosis of Rett syndrome or other degenerative conditions (e.g., inborn error of metabolism);
3. a comorbid health condition or major mental disorder that would interfere with study participation;
4. occurrence of self-injury during study assessments that presents a risk of serious or permanent harm (e.g., detached retinas) based on our routine clinical-risk assessment;
5. patients requiring changes to protective supports for self-injury or drug treatment, but we will invite these patients to participate when protective supports and drug regimen are stable.

About the study

Although highly effective, treatments like FCT include extinction, which can have adverse side effects. The extinction burst, an increase in the frequency or intensity of destructive behavior at the start of treatment, is the most common side effect of extinction, and can increase the risk of harm to the patient and others. The goal of the current study is to evaluate the prevalence of extinction bursts when various parameters of reinforcement (i.e., rate, magnitude, quality) are manipulated.

What is being tested

• Extinction-only condition (behavioral)
• Rate-drop condition (behavioral)
• Rate-hold condition (behavioral)
• Magnitude-drop condition (behavioral)
• Magnitude-hold condition (behavioral)
• Quality-drop condition (behavioral)

Sponsor: Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey · Participants: 40 · Started: Jul 7, 2023

Contact the study team

• Wayne Fisher, PhD · Phone: 8488008503
• Serena Claiborne · Phone: 8488008504

Official record on ClinicalTrials.gov — NCT05925101

Locations in the U.S.

Conditions

• Aggression
• Self-Harm

From ClinicalTrials.gov, data retrieved Sep 30, 2026. Each study sets its own eligibility; the study team decides who can join.