Online Trial of Meditation and Behavior

June 11, 2021 updated by: Georgetown University

Identifying Neural Correlates of Altruism

This study investigates how different types of meditation may affect behaviors and emotions. The study is conducted entirely online and involves listening to 4-weeks of a guided meditation training. The meditation involves either Loving-Kindness or Relaxation techniques. The purpose of the study is to assess changes in behaviors and emotions using standard questionnaires, reports of real-world behavior, and online behavioral tasks. The overarching goal is to help clarify how mind-body practices may improve some aspects of well-being.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

75

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

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

Study Locations

  • United States
    • District of Columbia
      • Washington, District of Columbia, United States, 20007
        • Georgetown University

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

18 years to 55 years (ADULT)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Is a medically healthy individual
  • Lives in the United States
  • Has reliable internet access and the ability to join a Zoom video chat

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Has experience with meditation or other mind-body practices
  • Has a neurological disease
  • Has a current psychiatric disorder
  • Is on medication that affects the central nervous system (e.g. psychotropic drugs)
  • Has recurrent or chronic pain
  • Is pregnant or planning to become pregnant

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: BASIC_SCIENCE
  • Allocation: RANDOMIZED
  • Interventional Model: PARALLEL
  • Masking: NONE

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Loving-Kindness Meditation
4-week guided Loving-Kindness Meditation training (administered online).
Behavioral: Loving-Kindness Meditation
Approximately 15-minute sessions are administered 6 days per week
Other Names:
  • Metta Meditation
Experimental: Relaxation Meditation
4-week guided Relaxation Meditation training (administered online).
Behavioral: Relaxation Meditation
Approximately 15-minute sessions are administered 6 days per week
Other Names:
  • Progressive Muscle Relaxation

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Social functioning
Time Frame: 4-5 weeks
Participants will complete a questionnaire about their real-world social behaviors. An aggregate score will be computed; higher scores will indicate better social functioning.
4-5 weeks
Affective responses
Time Frame: 4-5 weeks
Participants will perform a wall-sit test and responses will be measured using a 0-100 Visual Analog Scale of intensity.
4-5 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Psychological well-being related to COVID-19
Time Frame: 4-5 weeks
Participants will complete a questionnaire related to the psychological impact of COVID-19 social distancing. Higher scores will indicate worse psychological impact of COVID-19.
4-5 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Georgetown University

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)

December 4, 2020

Primary Completion (Actual)

June 10, 2021

Study Completion (Actual)

June 10, 2021

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

November 10, 2020

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 16, 2020

First Posted (Actual)

November 17, 2020

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

June 14, 2021

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 11, 2021

Last Verified

November 1, 2020

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 2010-180-2

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

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.

Clinical Trials on Meditation

Clinical Trials on Loving-Kindness Meditation

Search Similar Trials

Sponsors and Collaborators

Medical Conditions

Drug Interventions

CROs by country

CROs in Georgia

Conditions

Rare Diseases

Drug Interventions

Dietary Supplements

Sponsor/Collaborators

Locations

3
Subscribe