Denne side blev automatisk oversat, og nøjagtigheden af ​​oversættelsen er ikke garanteret. Der henvises til engelsk version for en kildetekst.

Chatbot Intervention Effects on Emotional Arousal in Anhedonia

7. juli 2026 opdateret af: Benjamin Becker, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China

Effects of a Chatbot-Based Intervention on Subjective Arousal and Neural Reactivity to Emotional Video Stimuli in Individuals With Anhedonia

The main aim of the present study is to investigate the effects of a Motivational Interviewing-based artificial intelligence chatbot on affective arousal in college students with elevated levels of depression and anhedonia by combining a randomized active-control intervention design with pre- and post-intervention emotional video task assessments during fMRI.

Studieoversigt

Status

Rekruttering

Betingelser

Intervention / Behandling

Detaljeret beskrivelse

Anhedonia represents a core characteristic of depression and is characterized by reduced experience of pleasure. It is closely related to decreased motivation, altered reward processing, changes in affective responsiveness, and alterations in intrinsic brain network function. Anhedonia is not specifically targeted by currently available pharmacological interventions. Initial evidence indicates that an increased willingness to change and implementation of change in daily life can alleviate anhedonia.

The present study aims to examine whether a Motivational Interviewing-based AI chatbot can lead to changes in affective arousal responses in college students with elevated anhedonia and depressive symptoms. Affective arousal is included because anhedonia may involve altered emotional reactivity and reduced subjective responses to affective stimuli, in addition to reduced pleasure. The emotional video task allows the study to assess subjective arousal responses and neural responses to positive, neutral, and negative affective stimuli. To this end, eligible participants with a total score of 22 or higher on the Snaith-Hamilton Pleasure Scale and a score of 14 or higher on the Beck Depression Inventory will undergo a randomized, between-subjects, active-control intervention study. Participants will be assigned to either a Motivational Interviewing-based chatbot group or an active control chatbot group for 1 week. Pre- and post-intervention assessments will include self-report questionnaires and an affective arousal video task during functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine psychological, behavioral, and neural effects of the intervention.

Undersøgelsestype

Interventionel

Tilmelding (Anslået)

80

Fase

  • Ikke anvendelig

Kontakter og lokationer

Dette afsnit indeholder kontaktoplysninger for dem, der udfører undersøgelsen, og oplysninger om, hvor denne undersøgelse udføres.

Studiekontakt

  • Navn: Benjamin Becker, Dr
  • Telefonnummer: (852) 3917-5097
  • E-mail: bbecker@hku.hk

Studiesteder

    • Sichuan
      • Chengdu, Sichuan, Kina
        • Rekruttering
        • University of Electronic Science and Technology of China
        • Kontakt:
          • Benjamin Becker, Dr
          • Telefonnummer: (852) 3917-5097
          • E-mail: bbecker@hku.hk

Deltagelseskriterier

Forskere leder efter personer, der passer til en bestemt beskrivelse, kaldet berettigelseskriterier. Nogle eksempler på disse kriterier er en persons generelle helbredstilstand eller tidligere behandlinger.

Berettigelseskriterier

Aldre berettiget til at studere

  • Voksen

Tager imod sunde frivillige

Ja

Beskrivelse

Inclusion Criteria:

  • 18-40 years
  • Right-handed
  • Normal or corrected normal visual acuity
  • Participants must show elevated anhedonia and depressive symptoms at screening, defined as a total score of 22 or higher on the Snaith-Hamilton Pleasure Scale and a score of 14 or higher on the Beck Depression Inventory

Exclusion Criteria:

  • History of major central nervous system disorders, such as epilepsy, traumatic brain injury, stroke, or brain tumors.
  • History of severe mental illness, including schizophrenia spectrum disorders, bipolar disorder, or other psychotic disorders.
  • History of substance or alcohol use disorder or substance or alcohol misuse within the past 12 months that may affect study participation or outcome assessment.
  • Individuals currently at high risk of suicide, severe self-harm, or experiencing an acute psychiatric crisis.
  • Individuals who are currently using psychiatric medications or have undergone psychotherapy within the past 4 weeks that may significantly affect mood, motivation, or reward processing.
  • Severe vision or hearing impairments that cannot be corrected and would interfere with task performance.
  • Contraindications to MRI scanning, including metallic implants, pacemakers, severe claustrophobia, or other conditions incompatible with MRI.
  • Pregnancy or breastfeeding.

Studieplan

Dette afsnit indeholder detaljer om studieplanen, herunder hvordan undersøgelsen er designet, og hvad undersøgelsen måler.

Hvordan er undersøgelsen tilrettelagt?

Design detaljer

  • Primært formål: Grundvidenskab
  • Tildeling: Randomiseret
  • Interventionel model: Parallel tildeling
  • Maskning: Dobbelt

Våben og indgreb

Deltagergruppe / Arm
Intervention / Behandling
Eksperimentel: Motivational Interviewing-based AI chatbot group
Motivational Interviewing-based AI chatbot intervention
The experimental chatbot is designed to use principles of Motivational Interviewing to support participants in exploring their personal values, motivation for change, and daily behavioral goals related to pleasure, engagement, and reward-seeking. During the intervention period, participants will interact with the chatbot regularly through brief text-based conversations. The chatbot will provide empathic, non-judgmental responses, encourage reflection on current difficulties, and help participants identify small, feasible actions that may increase daily engagement and positive experiences. It will not provide diagnosis, crisis counseling, or medical treatment.
Aktiv komparator: Active control chatbot group
Active control nature-story chatbot intervention
Participants will interact with a chatbot matched in format and frequency of use. This chatbot will provide neutral nature-related stories or general natural history content. It will be designed to maintain participant engagement while avoiding therapeutic techniques, motivational interviewing strategies, behavioral activation guidance, or personalized mental health advice. This active control condition will help control for nonspecific effects of chatbot interaction, attention, expectancy, and digital engagement.

Hvad måler undersøgelsen?

Primære resultatmål

Resultatmål
Foranstaltningsbeskrivelse
Tidsramme
Subjective Affective Arousal in Response to Video Stimuli
Tidsramme: Baseline before the first chatbot interaction and Week 1 after completion of the chatbot intervention.
Participants will view positive, neutral, and negative video stimuli before and after the intervention and report their subjective arousal after each video. Mean arousal ratings will be calculated separately for each emotional condition, and pre-to-post changes will be compared across positive, neutral, and negative video conditions
Baseline before the first chatbot interaction and Week 1 after completion of the chatbot intervention.

Sekundære resultatmål

Resultatmål
Foranstaltningsbeskrivelse
Tidsramme
Activity in Brain Systems Supporting Affective Arousal Processing
Tidsramme: Baseline before the first chatbot interaction and Week 1 after completion of the chatbot intervention.
Participants will undergo task-based BOLD fMRI while viewing positive, negative, and neutral emotional videos. Neural responses within predefined brain systems involved in arousal and valence processing will be estimated using a general linear model. Beta contrast estimates will then be derived for positive versus neutral, negative versus neutral, and positive versus negative conditions. These estimates will be used to evaluate changes from baseline to post-intervention.
Baseline before the first chatbot interaction and Week 1 after completion of the chatbot intervention.

Samarbejdspartnere og efterforskere

Det er her, du vil finde personer og organisationer, der er involveret i denne undersøgelse.

Sponsor

Datoer for undersøgelser

Disse datoer sporer fremskridtene for indsendelser af undersøgelsesrekord og resumeresultater til ClinicalTrials.gov. Studieregistreringer og rapporterede resultater gennemgås af National Library of Medicine (NLM) for at sikre, at de opfylder specifikke kvalitetskontrolstandarder, før de offentliggøres på den offentlige hjemmeside.

Studer store datoer

Studiestart (Anslået)

20. juni 2026

Primær færdiggørelse (Anslået)

30. juni 2028

Studieafslutning (Anslået)

31. december 2028

Datoer for studieregistrering

Først indsendt

17. juni 2026

Først indsendt, der opfyldte QC-kriterier

22. juni 2026

Først opslået (Faktiske)

26. juni 2026

Opdateringer af undersøgelsesjournaler

Sidste opdatering sendt (Faktiske)

9. juli 2026

Sidste opdatering indsendt, der opfyldte kvalitetskontrolkriterier

7. juli 2026

Sidst verificeret

1. juni 2026

Mere information

Begreber relateret til denne undersøgelse

Nøgleord

Andre undersøgelses-id-numre

  • BAM_lab_MI_02

Plan for individuelle deltagerdata (IPD)

Planlægger du at dele individuelle deltagerdata (IPD)?

INGEN

IPD-planbeskrivelse

Corresponding individual level data will be made available upon request.

Lægemiddel- og udstyrsoplysninger, undersøgelsesdokumenter

Studerer et amerikansk FDA-reguleret lægemiddelprodukt

Ingen

Studerer et amerikansk FDA-reguleret enhedsprodukt

Ingen

Disse oplysninger blev hentet direkte fra webstedet clinicaltrials.gov uden ændringer. Hvis du har nogen anmodninger om at ændre, fjerne eller opdatere dine undersøgelsesoplysninger, bedes du kontakte register@clinicaltrials.gov. Så snart en ændring er implementeret på clinicaltrials.gov, vil denne også blive opdateret automatisk på vores hjemmeside .