The Social Regulation of Threat-related Vigilance and Arousal

NCT05558527 | Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: 1883993-2
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 45
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This study will examine the effects of social support on threat vigilance and arousal using eye tracking. We will also test the moderating effects of trauma and discrimination history.

Conditions

Discrimination, Racial; Emotion Regulation; Social Interaction; Hypervigilance; Anxiety; Psychological Trauma, Historical

Keywords

psychological trauma; ethnoracial discrimination; hypervigilance; anticipated threat; social emotion regulation; social touch

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (3)

• Vigilance Related Eye Movements - Number of Eye Fixations

  Participants will view 15 pictures of natural environmental scenes for 10 seconds per image. We will use an eye tracker to examine the number of eye fixations per scene. A greater number of fixations during the 10 second presentation of a scene would indicate greater vigilance.

  Collected from minute 15 to minute 45 of study participation, approximately

• Vigilance Related Eye Movements - Visual Scanning

  Participants will view 15 pictures of natural environmental scenes for 10 seconds per image. We will use an eye tracker to examine the proportion of the scene that they look at (fixate on) out of approximately 80 possible sectors. A greater proportion of the scene they fixate on would indicate greater vigilance.

  Collected from minute 15 to minute 45 of study participation, approximately

• Threat-Related Physiological Arousal - Pupil Dilation

  Participants will view a series of visual cues (either an 'X' or an 'O') where an 'X' signals a possible (20% probability) aversive auditory stimulus (human scream). We will examine pupil dilation during the task in order to measure arousal in response to uncertain threat. We will calculate average pupil dilation during the wait period after threat cues (X) and after safety cues (O). We will subtract average pupil dilation after safety cues from threat cues to create an index of threat-related arousal. Greater pupil dilation (for threat minus safety cues) would indicate greater threat-related arousal.

  Collected from minute 45 to minute 75 of study participation, approximately

Study Arms (3)

Social support from a romantic partner

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants will hold the hand of their romantic partner

Behavioral: social support

Social support from a stranger

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Participants will hold the hand of a stranger

Behavioral: social support

No social support

NO INTERVENTION

Participants will hold a stress ball

Interventions

social support BEHAVIORAL

social support is provided in the form of social touch (hand holding)

Social support from a romantic partner; Social support from a stranger

Eligibility Criteria

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

You may qualify if:

• In a stable romantic relationship for 6 months or more
• Normal vision or corrected-to-normal vision
• Fluent in English

You may not qualify if:

• If vision is corrected-to-normal, needs to use hard contact lenses, bifocal contact lenses, or glasses
• Experienced a traumatic event within the past 4 weeks

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Nevada, Reno: lead

Study Sites (1)

University of Nevada, Reno

Reno, Nevada, 89557, United States

RECRUITING

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Historical Trauma; Racism; Emotional Regulation; Anxiety Disorders; Psychological Trauma

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Stress Disorders, Traumatic; Trauma and Stressor Related Disorders; Mental Disorders; Prejudice; Social Behavior; Behavior; Social Discrimination; Self-Control

Study Officials

• Cynthia L Lancaster, PhD

  University of Nevada, Reno

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Kylie Baer, MS

CONTACT

(775) 682-8145; kyliebaer@unr.edu

Cynthia L Lancaster, PhD

CONTACT

(775) 682-8145; cynthialancaster@unr.edu

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: BASIC SCIENCE
• Intervention Model: CROSSOVER
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Associate Professor Psychology/Associate Director, Clinical Training

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: August 12, 2022
• First Posted: September 28, 2022
• Study Start: December 18, 2025
• Primary Completion (Estimated): December 1, 2028
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 1, 2029
• Last Updated: April 13, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-02

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Shared Documents: STUDY PROTOCOL, SAP, ICF
• Time Frame: within 6 months after publication
• Access Criteria: email request to the study PI (cynthialancaster@unr.edu)

Locations

US (1)