The Effect of Attention Bias Modification Training on Reducing Depressive Symptoms

A Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-Controlled Evaluation of the Efficacy of Attentional Bias Modification Training in the Treatment of Depressive Symptoms

The purpose of this study is to test whether attention bias modification training is an effective neurobehavioral therapy to improve depressive symptoms.That is whether attention bias modification training is superior to placebo in reducing depressive symptoms over 1 year after training.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Depressive Symptoms
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: a word dot-probe task for training procedure

Detailed Description

Attentional bias has been theorized to play a critical role in the onset and maintenance of depression. Attentional bias modification training (ABMT), an experimental paradigm that uses training to induce adaptive attentional bias, was developed to test the causal model and this has therapeutic implications in depression.To test the effect of ABMT on treatment of depressive symptoms, a randomized, double-blind, placebo and blank controlled trial is conducted in college students who are experiencing mild-to-severe symptoms of depression.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 77
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• China
  • Hunan
    • Changsha, Hunan, China, 400081
      • Department of Psychology, Hunan Normal University

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 12 years and older (Child, Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• A score of 14 or higher on the Beck Depression Inventory-II

Exclusion criteria :

1. a current episode of MDD, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia or organic mental disorder;
2. any concurrent psychotherapy;
3. any concurrent psychotropic medication.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

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

Number of Arms

3

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Attentional bias modification training; Attention bias modification training (ABMT) is a modified dot probe task, in which a probe always appears in the location of neutral stimulus after the two stimuli (i.e. one is the depressive cue and the other is neutral) were simultaneously presented. In the ABMT,the probability that a probe appears in the location of neutral is 90%, and correspondingly,in the location of depressive stimuli is 10%.; ABMT intervention: Participants complete 8 sessions of attention bias modification training (ABMT) during a two-week period. Each session consists of 218 trials, and the time to complete a training session is 12 minutes (4 sessions a week, roughly one session every other day with for each session).	Behavioral: a word dot-probe task for training procedure; In the word dot-probe task for training procedure of attention bias modification, 90% of the targets appeared at the neutral word position and 10% at the sad word position.In the placebo condition, the targets appeared with equal probability in the sad (50%) and neutral (50%) word positions.All participants in ABM and placebo conditions received eight 12-min training sessions over a 2-week period.During each session, participants completed 216 word dot-probe trials.
Placebo Comparator: Placebo training; Participants complete 8 sessions of placebo training(PT) during a two-week period. Placebo training is a classic dot probe task, in which a probe appears after either of the locations that the two stimuli (i.e. one is the depressive cue and the other is neutral) were presented, with the same frequencies. In the PT condition, each session also consists of 218 trials, and the time to complete a PT session is approximately 10 minutes as well.	Behavioral: a word dot-probe task for training procedure; In the word dot-probe task for training procedure of attention bias modification, 90% of the targets appeared at the neutral word position and 10% at the sad word position.In the placebo condition, the targets appeared with equal probability in the sad (50%) and neutral (50%) word positions.All participants in ABM and placebo conditions received eight 12-min training sessions over a 2-week period.During each session, participants completed 216 word dot-probe trials.
No Intervention: blank control; Participants only complete assessment at each point time.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Depressive Symptoms Measured by Beck Depression Inventory-II	Beck Depression Inventory-II(BDI-II) contains 21 items and rates the depressive symptoms for the past two weeks. Each question provides for a response of 0 to 3. A zero response means the depressive symptom is not present; a 1 means the symptom is present, a 2 means the symptom is moderate, and a 3 means the symptom is severe. The total BDI-II score is the sum of the individual items; total BDI-II scores can range from 0 to 63. Cutoff points developed by Beck, Steer, & Brown (1997) for the total BDI-II are: 0 to 13, nondepressed; 14 to 19, mild depression; 20 to 28, moderate depression; 29 or more, severe depression.	From the baseline to posttraining, 2-, 4-, 8-week, 3-, 7-month follow-ups after training

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Anxiety and Rumination Symptoms Measured by State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-Trait(STAI-T) and Rumination Response Style（RRS）	State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-Trait (STAI-T) measures the anxiety symptoms of the individuals who often feel.It consists of 20 items and each question provides for a response of 1 to 4. A 1 response means the anxiety symptom is not present; a 2 means the symptom is present but a little, a 3 means the symptom is usually present, and a 4 means the symptom lasts all the time. The total STAI-T score is the sum of the individual items; total STAI-T scores can range from 20 to 80. The higher values represent a worse outcome. The RRS measures ruminative responses to depressed mood. The content of the items is related to depressive cognitions and their possible causes and consequences. The scale consists of 21items and each question provides for a response of 1 to 4. The total RRS scores can range from 21 to 84. The higher values represent a worse outcome.	From baseline to post-training, 2-, 4-, 8-week, 3- , 7-month follow-ups after training

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Hunan Normal University

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Yang W, Ding Z, Dai T, Peng F, Zhang JX. Attention Bias Modification training in individuals with depressive symptoms: A randomized controlled trial. J Behav Ther Exp Psychiatry. 2015 Dec;49(Pt A):101-11. doi: 10.1016/j.jbtep.2014.08.005. Epub 2014 Sep 8.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: September 1, 2011
• Primary Completion (Actual): July 1, 2013
• Study Completion (Actual): July 1, 2013

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: June 9, 2012
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 25, 2012
• First Posted (Estimate): June 26, 2012

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): August 14, 2020
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 1, 2020
• Last Verified: August 1, 2020

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: depression; training; attention; modification
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Behavioral Symptoms; Depression
• Other Study ID Numbers: XJK011AXL002