Brief Mental Training and Internal Attentional Control

NCT05353231 | Unknown

• 1 other identifier: MDTT-AFACT
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 90
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Previous research documented that real-time feedback on attention as well as related forms of mental training (e.g. mindfulness meditation) may be used to train and impact external attentional control. These approaches to mental training are designed to train meta-awareness in order to enable attentional control. It is not yet known, however, whether such training targeting meta-awareness can be similarly used to impact internal attentional control. Thus, the investigators will test whether real-time feedback training and a brief mindfulness meditation training, relative to placebo control, will lead to greater internal attentional control among adults with elevated negative repetitive thinking.

Conditions

Attention Impaired; Mental Health Issue; Rumination

Keywords

Cognitive Change; Internal attention; Interoceptive attention; Meditation; Mindfulness; Computerized intervention; Attentional bias

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Change in the STP-Digit Categorization Task

  The STP-Digit Categorization Task (STP-DCT) will be used to measure change, from pre-intervention to post-intervention, in internal attentional disengagement. Attentional disengagement will be computed by the difference in reaction time on negative relative to neutral simulated thought stimuli as well as via a dynamic bias score calculated by subtracting the running mean of the 8 neutral trials window ( 4 neutral trials backwards and 4 neutral trials forward), from each negative trial reaction time that exceeds the 95%CI., dividing this distance by the 8 neutral trials window standard deviation (Amir, Ruimi, \& Bernstein, 2021). A positive score reflects greater difficulty to disengage from negative relative to neutral thought stimuli.

  pre-intervention, immediately post-intervention

Secondary Outcomes (4)

• STP-One-Back Dichotic Listening Task

  immediately post-intervention

• STP-Digit Categorization Task (STP-DCT) with Self-Caught Probes

  immediately post-intervention

• Change in the STP-Emotional Reactivity Task

  pre-intervention, immediately post-intervention

• Change in the STP-Body Map Task

  pre-intervention, immediately post-intervention

Study Arms (3)

Intervention 1 - Attention Feedback Awareness and Control Training

EXPERIMENTAL

Behavioral: Attention Feedback Awareness and Control Training (A-FACT)

Intervention 2 - Mindful Disengagement from Thoughts Training

EXPERIMENTAL

Behavioral: Mindful Disengagement from Thoughts Training (MDTT)

Placebo

PLACEBO COMPARATOR

Behavioral: Placebo-Control

Interventions

Attention Feedback Awareness and Control Training (A-FACT) BEHAVIORAL

A-FACT is designed to promote meta-awareness of moment-to-moment biased internal attention allocation (e.g. toward negative thoughts) and thereby internal attentional control. Participants will be instructed that they will complete a task designed to reduce their attentional bias to some thoughts. Following a fixation que, the auditory neutral or negative simulated thought stimulus is delivered, and 500ms prior to termination of the auditory stimulus, a visual stimulus is presented until participants categorize the visual stimulus as greater than or smaller than 5 objects. Latency to disengage attention from each thought stimuli, at the trial-level, is repeatedly measured, and after each negative thought stimulus, trial-level feedback on the latency to disengage is delivered back to participants through a visual scale representing their attentional bias. Participants will complete approximately 100 trials in total wherein randomly 1 or 2 neutral trials follow each negative trial.

Intervention 1 - Attention Feedback Awareness and Control Training

Mindful Disengagement from Thoughts Training (MDTT) BEHAVIORAL

MDTT is designed to promote meta-awareness of moment-to-moment biased internal attention allocation (e.g. toward negative thoughts) and thereby internal attentional control. Participants will be instructed that they will complete a task designed to reduce their attentional bias to some thoughts. Participants will first learn and practice a focused attention on the breath meditation. Then, participants will practice pressing a button each time they notice an inhalation or exhalation during the focused attention meditation. Next, during the meditation, participants will be presented the auditory neutral or negative simulated thought stimuli and will train internal attentional control by repeatedly disengaging their attention from these stimuli and back to their breath MDTT will thus entail 80 trials (40 negative, 40 neutral, ITI ≈ 10sec) during the focused attention on the breath meditation.

Intervention 2 - Mindful Disengagement from Thoughts Training

Placebo-Control BEHAVIORAL

The condition is designed as a placebo control for the Attention Feedback Awareness and Control Training (A-FACT) training condition. Participants will be instructed that they will complete a task designed to reduce their attentional bias to some thoughts. Rather than the quantity categorization task with trial-level feedback, participants only engage in the quantity categorization task. The task is identical in all other ways to the A-FACT condition. Participants will complete approximately 100 trials in total wherein randomly 1 or 2 neutral trials follow each negative trial.

Placebo

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 65 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Brooding subscale in the Ruminative Responses Scale (RRS) - with score equal to or greater than 11

You may not qualify if:

• Endorsement of suicidal ideation ("Yes" answer to Patient Health Questionnaire - 9 Item
• Psychotic Symptoms, specifically auditory hallucinations
• Self-report lack of fluency in speaking or understanding Hebrew-language

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Haifa: lead

Study Sites (1)

University of Haifa

Haifa, 31905, Israel

RECRUITING

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Rumination Syndrome

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Gastrointestinal Diseases; Digestive System Diseases; Feeding and Eating Disorders; Mental Disorders

Study Officials

• Amit Bernstein, Ph.D.

  University of Haifa

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Amit Bernstein, Ph.D.

CONTACT

+972-4-828-8871; abernstein@psy.haifa.ac.il

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: DOUBLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT, INVESTIGATOR
• Purpose: BASIC SCIENCE
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: April 25, 2022
• First Posted: April 29, 2022
• Study Start: May 23, 2022
• Primary Completion: October 1, 2022
• Study Completion: December 1, 2022
• Last Updated: May 24, 2022

Record last verified: 2022-04

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Shared Documents: STUDY PROTOCOL, SAP, ICF, CSR, ANALYTIC CODE

Locations

IL (1)