NCT06299293

Brief Summary

Altered emotional processing is reported in Anorexia Nervosa. However, this capability is generally measured through explicit measures, like self-report questionnaires and facial emotion recognition tasks. Instead, no previous research has investigated implicit emotional processing in this clinical condition. In the implicit facial emotion recognition task grounded on the implicit "redundant target effect", individuals generally respond faster when two identical targets are presented simultaneously rather than when presented alone; moreover, the competitive presence of a distractor (that is another emotion or a neutral expression) affects the correct recognition of the target. The ability to recognize and detect facial expressions is explored about two main emotions, fear and anger, because of their role in the intra- and interindividual psychological processing.

Trial Health

87
On Track

Trial Health Score

Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach

Enrollment
40

participants targeted

Target at P25-P50 for all trials

Timeline
Completed

Started Feb 2023

Shorter than P25 for all trials

Geographic Reach
1 country

1 active site

Status
completed

Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.

Trial Relationships

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Study Timeline

Key milestones and dates

Study Start

First participant enrolled

February 1, 2023

Completed
1 year until next milestone

Primary Completion

Last participant's last visit for primary outcome

February 1, 2024

Completed
Same day until next milestone

Study Completion

Last participant's last visit for all outcomes

February 1, 2024

Completed
27 days until next milestone

First Submitted

Initial submission to the registry

February 28, 2024

Completed
8 days until next milestone

First Posted

Study publicly available on registry

March 7, 2024

Completed
Last Updated

August 27, 2025

Status Verified

August 1, 2025

Enrollment Period

1 year

First QC Date

February 28, 2024

Last Update Submit

August 20, 2025

Conditions

Keywords

Facial emotion recognitionFearAngerRedundant target effectAlexithymia

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

  • Behavioural measure relative to recognition ability

    Level of accuracy expressed in percentage (min =%; max = 100%) about only the valid trails, in the case of emotion used as target.

    baseline

Secondary Outcomes (1)

  • Behavioural measure relative to the detection ability

    baseline

Study Arms (2)

Cases

Participants with Anorexia Nervosa

Other: Facial Emotion Recognition Test

Controls

Participants with a healthy weight

Other: Facial Emotion Recognition Test

Interventions

In this test, the ability to detect and recognize facial expressions of fear or anger will be investigated.

CasesControls

Eligibility Criteria

Age20 Years - 50 Years
Sexfemale
Healthy VolunteersYes
Age GroupsAdult (18-64)
Sampling MethodNon-Probability Sample
Study Population

Participants with anorexia nervosa will be recruited at the beginning of a rehabilitative treatment at the Istituto Auxologico Italiano, IRCCS, San Giuseppe Hospital (Italy). Controls will be recruited out of the hospital.

You may qualify if:

  • right-handed
  • diagnosis of Anorexia Nervosa according to the APA criteria

You may not qualify if:

  • \- concurrent neurological, neurodevelopmental (e.g., autism), motor, somatosensory and/or psychiatric disorders.

Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Study Sites (1)

IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano - Ospedale San Giuseppe

Piancavallo, VCO, 28824, Italy

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Anorexia NervosaAffective Symptoms

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Feeding and Eating DisordersMental DisordersBehavioral SymptomsBehavior

Study Design

Study Type
observational
Observational Model
CASE CONTROL
Time Perspective
CROSS SECTIONAL
Sponsor Type
OTHER
Responsible Party
SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

First Submitted

February 28, 2024

First Posted

March 7, 2024

Study Start

February 1, 2023

Primary Completion

February 1, 2024

Study Completion

February 1, 2024

Last Updated

August 27, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-08

Locations