Chatbot Intervention Effects on Resting-State Brain Function in Anhedonia
7. juli 2026 opdateret af: Benjamin Becker, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China
Effects of a Chatbot-Based Intervention on Resting-State Functional Connectivity and Spontaneous Neural Activity 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 resting-state brain function in college students with elevated anhedonia and depressive symptoms.
The study will use a randomized active-control intervention design with pre- and post-intervention resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging assessments.
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, and alterations in intrinsic brain network function.
Resting-state fMRI provides a way to examine intrinsic brain activity and functional connectivity without requiring participants to perform a specific task.
This is important because changes associated with anhedonia may not only appear during reward-related tasks, but may also be reflected in spontaneous brain network organization.
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
- 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 |
|---|---|
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Eksperimentel: Motivational Interviewing-based AI chatbot group
Motivational Interviewing-based AI chatbot intervention
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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.
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Aktiv komparator: Active control chatbot group
Active control nature-story chatbot intervention
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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.
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Hvad måler undersøgelsen?
Primære resultatmål
Resultatmål |
Foranstaltningsbeskrivelse |
Tidsramme |
|---|---|---|
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Intervention-Related Changes in Resting-State Functional Connectivity After the Intervention
Tidsramme: Baseline before the first chatbot interaction and Week 1 after completion of the chatbot intervention.
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Resting-state fMRI will be used to examine functional connectivity among predefined regions involved in reward, social, and self-referential processing.
Connectivity will be estimated from Pearson correlations between regional BOLD time series and then converted using the Fisher z transformation.
Changes from baseline to post-intervention will be reported as dimensionless Fisher z values.
|
Baseline before the first chatbot interaction and Week 1 after completion of the chatbot intervention.
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Sekundære resultatmål
Resultatmål |
Foranstaltningsbeskrivelse |
Tidsramme |
|---|---|---|
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Intervention-Related Changes in Spontaneous Activity After the Intervention
Tidsramme: Baseline before the first chatbot interaction and Week 1 after completion of the chatbot intervention.
|
Indices of spontaneous neural activity in regions involved in motivation, social and self-referential processing, will be extracted from resting-state fMRI scans collected at the two assessment points.
These indices will include amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations or fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations, as well as regional homogeneity.
Baseline and post-intervention values will then be compared to characterize pre-to-post changes.
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Baseline before the first chatbot interaction and Week 1 after completion of the chatbot intervention.
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Samarbejdspartnere og efterforskere
Det er her, du vil finde personer og organisationer, der er involveret i denne undersøgelse.
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)
24. 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_01
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
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