Imagery Vividness and Arousal Responses to Prospective Imagery

Research has shown that mental imagery appears to carry emotion better than verbal communication. One way this can be noted is that emotional mental imagery trigger physiological arousal responses. These may be important for treatment techniques using mental imagery, such as imaginal exposure and imagery re-scripting. However, as the development of clinical applications increasingly considers the use of flashpoint imagery, i.e. mental imagery of short duration, it is of interest to examine whether also flashpoint imagery trigger arousal responses. This study examines the arousal response to flashpoint imagery of different valence (positive, negative, and neutral).

Moreover, emerging evidence suggest that depressed individuals find it more difficult to produce mental imagery of positive future events (less accessible and vivid) than healthy controls. In addition, individuals with clinical anxiety appear to be able to produce imagery of negative future events more easily than healthy controls. This study explores whether these results can be noted also in sub-clinical symptoms of depression and anxiety, and if so, if they are accompanied with corresponding changes in arousal responses.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Healthy
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Prospective Imagery visualization task

Detailed Description

This study takes part in a single session. Participants will produce flashpoint imagery of future events while skin conductance responses, imagery vividness ratings, valence and arousal ratings are collected. Participants will also fill in questionnaires on depression and anxiety symptoms, as well as a questionnaire measuring general propensity for mental imagery.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 60

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Sweden
  • Uppsala, Sweden
    • Uppsala University, Department of Psychology

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 60 years (Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Healthy participants

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Age 18 or over
• Fluent in Swedish
• Willing and able to provide informed consent and complete study procedures

Exclusion Criteria:

• Current psychiatric disorder
• Current use of psychotropic medication

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Imagery vividness ratings	Scale: 1-5; no image at all - image as clear and vivd as real life	Day 1
Skin conductance response (SCR)	SCR is used to measure physiological arousal response to the mental imagery production. The study evaluates differences in SCR between valences of prospective imagery (neutral, negative, positive) and possible covariation with self-rated anxiety or depression symptoms.	Day 1

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Time in seconds it takes to construct a situation to visualize	Measured as the time period from the presentation of the instruction until the participant reports a constructed situation.	Day 1
Subjective Valence Ratings	Subjective Valence Ratings for each produced mental imagery (0-100; negative to positive)	Day 1
Subjective Arousal Ratings	Subjective Arousal Ratings for each produced mental imagery (0-100; 0=no arousal, 100=maximum arousal)	Day 1
The Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire	This is a self-rated questionnaire measuring vividness of visual mental imagery. Higher scores indicate higher level of vividness (range 0-80)	Day 1
State-Trait Anxiety Inventory	This is a self-rated questionnaire measuring trait anxiety. Higher scores indicate higher level of trait anxiety (range 20-80)	Day 1
Formulär för patienthälsa (PHQ-9)	This is a self-rated questionnaire for measuring depression symptoms. Higher scores indicate more symptoms of depression (range 0-27 + specific question of how disabling the symptoms are)	Day 1

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Uppsala University
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Thomas Ågren, PhD, Uppsala University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): October 5, 2020
• Primary Completion (Actual): October 15, 2021
• Study Completion (Actual): October 15, 2021

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: April 28, 2020
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 28, 2020
• First Posted (Actual): May 1, 2020

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): October 19, 2021
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 18, 2021
• Last Verified: October 1, 2021

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Skin conductance; Mental Imagery
• Other Study ID Numbers: 2019-06507

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: YES
• IPD Plan Description: Data, study protocol, and ICF will be available at Open Science Framework (OSF) upon publication. Statistical analysis plan will be pre-registered at OSF.
• IPD Sharing Time Frame: Data will be available upon publication
• IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type: STUDY_PROTOCOL; SAP; ICF

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No