Study of Neuro-Cognitive Correlates of Pediatric Anxiety Disorders

May 28, 2026 updated by: National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

Study Description:

This study examines relations between neurocognitive and clinical features of pediatric anxiety disorders. The study uses neuro-cognitive tasks, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), as well as magneto- and electro-encephalography (M/EEG). Patients will be studied over one year, before and after receiving either one of two standard-of-care treatments: cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) or fluoxetine, a serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI). Healthy comparisons will be studied at comparable time points.

Primary Objectives:

To compare healthy youth and symptomatic, medication-free pediatric patients studied prior to receipt of treatment. The study seeks to detect relations between clinical features of anxiety disorders at baseline and a wide range of neurocognitive features associated with attention, memory, and response to motivational stimuli.

Secondary Objectives:

  1. To document relations between baseline neurocognitive features and response to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) or fluoxetine, as defined by the Pediatric Anxiety Rating Scale (PARS) and Clinical Global Improvement (CGI) Scale.
  2. To document relations between post-treatment changes in neurocognitive features and anxiety symptoms on the PARS following treatment with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) or fluoxetine.
  3. To document relations among broad arrays of clinical, cognitive, and neural measures

Primary Endpoints:

Indices of percent-signal change in hypothesized brain regions, comprising amygdala, striatum, and prefrontal cortex (PFC) for each fMRI and MEG paradigm.

Secondary Endpoints:

  1. Treatment-response as defined by a continuous measure, the Pediatric Anxiety Rating Scale score (PARS), and a categorial measure, the Clinical Global Improvement (CGI) score.
  2. Levels of symptoms and behaviors evoked by tasks that engage attention, memory, and elicit responses to motivational stimuli.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Study Description:

This study examines relations between neurocognitive and clinical features of pediatric anxiety disorders. The study uses neurocognitive tasks, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), as well as magneto- and electro-encephalography (M/EEG). Patients will be studied over one year, before and after receiving either one of two standard-of-care treatments: cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) or fluoxetine, a serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI). Healthy comparisons will be studied at comparable time points.

Primary Objectives:

-To compare healthy youth and symptomatic, medication-free pediatric patients studied prior to receipt of treatment. The study seeks to detect relations between clinical features of anxiety disorders at baseline and a wide range of neurocognitive features associated with attention, memory, and response to motivational stimuli.

Secondary Objectives:

  • To document relations between baseline neurocognitive features and response to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) or fluoxetine, as defined by the Pediatric Anxiety Rating Scale (PARS) and Clinical Global Improvement (CGI) Scale.
  • To document relations between post-treatment changes in neurocognitive features and anxiety symptoms on the PARS following treatment with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) or fluoxetine.
  • To document relations among broad arrays of clinical, cognitive, and neural measures

Primary Endpoints:

-Indices of percent-signal change in hypothesized brain regions, comprising amygdala, striatum, and prefrontal cortex (PFC) for each fMRI and MEG paradigm.

Secondary Endpoints:

  • Treatment-response as defined by a continuous measure, the Pediatric Anxiety Rating Scale score (PARS), and a categorial measure, the Clinical Global Improvement (CGI) score.
  • Levels of symptoms and behaviors evoked by tasks that engage attention, memory, and elicit responses to motivational stimuli.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

3500

Phase

  • Phase 2

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Maryland
      • Bethesda, Maryland, United States, 20892
        • Recruiting
        • National Institutes of Health Clinical Center
        • Contact:
          • NIH Clinical Center Office of Patient Recruitment (OPR)
          • Phone Number: TTY dial 711 800-411-1222
          • Email: ccopr@nih.gov
      • College Park, Maryland, United States, 20742
        • Recruiting
        • University of Maryland, College Park
        • Contact:
          • Nathan Fox, Ph.D.
          • Phone Number: Not Listed
          • Email: fox@umd.edu

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

8 years to 65 years (Child, Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

  • INCLUSION CRITERIA:

ALL JUVENILE SUBJECTS

  • Age: 8-17 (subjects who consent as 17-year-olds but turn 18 during the course of the study will be eligible to complete all procedures completed by other subjects who consent as 17-year-olds but do not turn 18).
  • Consent: can give consent/assent (Parents will provide consent; minors will provide assent)
  • IQ: all subjects will have IQ>70 (Assessment relies on either a WASI or assessment by trained clinical staff during the subject s screening visit. Completion of required activities during the screening visit requires an IQ above 70.)
  • Language: all subjects will speak English (Tasks in this protocol have not been validated in languages other than English)

ALL ADULT SUBJECTS

  • Age: 18-65
  • Consent: can give consent
  • IQ: all subjects will have IQ>70 (Assessment relies on either a WASI or assessment by trained clinical staff during the subject s screening visit. Completion of required activities during the screening visit requires an IQ above 70.)
  • Language: all subjects will speak English (Tasks in this protocol have not been validated in languages other than English)

ALL SUBJECTS WITH AN ANXIETY DISORDER

  • Diagnosis: Current Diagnosis of OCD, Social Phobia, Separation Anxiety, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, or Panic Disorder (Based on K-SADS (juveniles) or SCID (adults))
  • Symptom Severity: Clinically significant, ongoing anxiety symptoms (This will be documented by clinician review with patients and their families during at least two visits with families.)
  • Clinical Impairment: Clinically significant, ongoing distress or impairment from anxiety (This will be documented by clinician review with patients and their families during at least two visits with families.)

ALL PREVIOUSLY ENROLLED ADOLESCENT PATIENTS, CHILD AND ADULT HEALTHY VOLUNTEERS, AND ALL HEALTHY VOLUNTEERS TURNED PATIENTS

  • Diagnosis: Current Diagnosis of OCD, Social Phobia, Separation Anxiety, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, or Panic Disorder; No current diagnosis (Based on K-SADS (juveniles) or SCID (adults))
  • Clinical Impairment (as applicable): Clinically significant, ongoing symptoms (This will be documented by clinician review with patients and their families during at least two visits with families.)
  • Symptom Severity (as applicable): Clinically significant, ongoing symptoms (This will be documented by clinician review with patients and their families during at least two visits with families.)

EXCLUSION CRITERIA:

ALL SUBJECTS

  • Any serious medical condition or condition that interferes with fMRI or M/EEG scanning, and for patients electing medication, any condition that increases risk of SSRI treatment. (All patients will complete a medical history. Healthy volunteer participants will be medication- free and have no current serious medical conditions, based on a review of their medical history. Subjects only will be excluded from the MRI portions of the study based on this exclusion criterion.)
  • Pregnancy (Subjects only will be excluded from the MRI portions of the study based on this exclusion criterion.)
  • Current use of any psychoactive substance; current suicidal ideation; current diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) of sufficient severity to require pharmacotherapy. (These factors could complicate treatment with an SSRI. No subject on medication will be accepted into the trial. Subjects will not be taken off of medications to enter the trial.)
  • Current diagnoses, major depressive disorder (MDD), post-traumatic distress disorder, conduct disorder. (These factors may be affected by SSRI treatment, influencing ability to detect effects on anxiety/symptoms of depression. Of note, subjects who present with a diagnosis of MDD will not be eligible for inclusion at the outset of the study. However, youth with anxiety disorders frequently develop MDD when followed over time. Subjects will be allowed to remain in the study if they develop these diagnoses after enrollment.)
  • Past or current history of mania, psychosis, or severe pervasive developmental disorder. (These factors may be affected by SSRI treatment, influencing ability to detect effects on anxiety/symptoms of depression. Of note, subjects who present with a diagnosis of MDD will not be eligible for inclusion at the outset of the study. However, youth with anxiety disorders frequently develop MDD when followed over time. Subjects will be allowed to remain in the study if they develop these diagnoses after enrollment.)
  • Recent use of an SSRI with failure to respond or tolerate SSRI treatment at an adequate dose and duration. (This is designed to exclude subjects who have failed a trial of an SSRI for their current problem with anxiety. For previously enrolled participants, including patients and healthy volunteers, current use of an SSRI does not exclude participation from follow-up research tasks.)
  • History of any (excepting nicotine-related and cannabis-related) DSM5-defined moderate to severe substance use disorder (or DSM-IV-defined substance dependence).

HEALTHY ADULT SUBJECTS

-Any current psychiatric diagnosis (Assessment relies on SCID)

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Double

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Active
Subjects in both treatment arms receive cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for a 12-week period. In the final eight weeks of the trial, the subjects complete either the active-intervention arm or the control invention arm. In these arms, either the active or control treatment is administered immediately before a CBT session.
Behavioral: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Behavioral: Attention Bias Modification Training
The intervention is computer-based. The active and control treatments have two components. In one component of the active intervention, subjects are asked to indicate the identity of a letter that appears behind a neutral face, opposite from an angry face. In another component of the active intervention, subjects are asked to identify numbers that are hidden within a puzzle, in locations distal from angry faces. In both components of the active intervention, subjects implicitly learn to shift their attention away from angry faces. This is because the faces are systematically arranged to be far removed from letters and numbers that need to be identified. The control arm of the intervention involves similar components. However, unlike in the intervention arm, angry faces appear in various locations near letters and numbers. Therefore, attention is not shaped in the control arm. This intervention requires five minutes per session and is administered before weekly psychotherapy sessions.
Drug: Fluoxetine
Randomized assignment.
Placebo Comparator: Control
Subjects in both treatment arms receive cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for a 12-week period. In the final eight weeks of the trial, the subjects complete either the active-intervention arm or the control invention arm. In these arms, either the active or control treatment is administered immediately before a CBT session.
Behavioral: Attention Bias Modification Training
The intervention is computer-based. The active and control treatments have two components. In one component of the active intervention, subjects are asked to indicate the identity of a letter that appears behind a neutral face, opposite from an angry face. In another component of the active intervention, subjects are asked to identify numbers that are hidden within a puzzle, in locations distal from angry faces. In both components of the active intervention, subjects implicitly learn to shift their attention away from angry faces. This is because the faces are systematically arranged to be far removed from letters and numbers that need to be identified. The control arm of the intervention involves similar components. However, unlike in the intervention arm, angry faces appear in various locations near letters and numbers. Therefore, attention is not shaped in the control arm. This intervention requires five minutes per session and is administered before weekly psychotherapy sessions.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Pediatric Anxiety Rating Scale (PARS)
Time Frame: Weekly
Clinician-rated report
Weekly
Clinical Global Improvement (CGI) Scale
Time Frame: Weekly
Clinician-rated report
Weekly

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Another secondary objective is to document relations between post-treatment changes in neurocognitive features and anxiety symptoms on the PARS following treatment with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) or fluoxetine.
Time Frame: Changes in symptoms on PARS and changes after 8-12 weeks of treatment in patients
Prior research in adults finds changes in symptoms to relate to changes in brain function. If confirmed in youth, this would provide insights on mechanisms of therapeutic change and targets for novel therapies
Changes in symptoms on PARS and changes after 8-12 weeks of treatment in patients

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

Collaborators

University of Oregon
University of Maryland
University of Minnesota

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Daniel S Pine, M.D., National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Helpful Links

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

October 2, 2001

Primary Completion (Estimated)

January 1, 2029

Study Completion (Estimated)

January 1, 2029

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

June 29, 2001

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 29, 2001

First Posted (Estimated)

July 2, 2001

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

May 29, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 28, 2026

Last Verified

May 8, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 010192
  • 01-M-0192

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

Yes

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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