Chatbot Intervention Effects on Resting-State Brain Function in Anhedonia
7. juli 2026 oppdatert av: 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.
Studieoversikt
Status
Rekruttering
Forhold
Intervensjon / Behandling
Detaljert 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.
Studietype
Intervensjonell
Registrering (Antatt)
80
Fase
- Ikke aktuelt
Kontakter og plasseringer
Denne delen inneholder kontaktinformasjon for de som utfører studien, og informasjon om hvor denne studien blir utført.
Studiekontakt
- Navn: Benjamin Becker
- Telefonnummer: (852) 3917-5097
- E-post: bbecker@hku.hk
Studiesteder
-
-
Sichuan
-
Chengdu, Sichuan, Kina
- Rekruttering
- University of Electronic Science and Technology of China
-
Ta kontakt med:
- Benjamin Becker, Dr
- Telefonnummer: (852) 3917-5097
- E-post: bbecker@hku.hk
-
-
Deltakelseskriterier
Forskere ser etter personer som passer til en bestemt beskrivelse, kalt kvalifikasjonskriterier. Noen eksempler på disse kriteriene er en persons generelle helsetilstand eller tidligere behandlinger.
Kvalifikasjonskriterier
Alder som er kvalifisert for studier
- Voksen
Tar imot friske 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
Denne delen gir detaljer om studieplanen, inkludert hvordan studien er utformet og hva studien måler.
Hvordan er studiet utformet?
Designdetaljer
- Primært formål: Grunnvitenskap
- Tildeling: Randomisert
- Intervensjonsmodell: Parallell tildeling
- Masking: Dobbelt
Våpen og intervensjoner
Deltakergruppe / Arm |
Intervensjon / Behandling |
|---|---|
|
Eksperimentell: 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.
|
Hva måler studien?
Primære resultatmål
Resultatmål |
Tiltaksbeskrivelse |
Tidsramme |
|---|---|---|
|
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.
|
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.
|
Sekundære resultatmål
Resultatmål |
Tiltaksbeskrivelse |
Tidsramme |
|---|---|---|
|
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.
|
Baseline before the first chatbot interaction and Week 1 after completion of the chatbot intervention.
|
Samarbeidspartnere og etterforskere
Det er her du vil finne personer og organisasjoner som er involvert i denne studien.
Studierekorddatoer
Disse datoene sporer fremdriften for innsending av studieposter og sammendragsresultater til ClinicalTrials.gov. Studieposter og rapporterte resultater gjennomgås av National Library of Medicine (NLM) for å sikre at de oppfyller spesifikke kvalitetskontrollstandarder før de legges ut på det offentlige nettstedet.
Studer hoveddatoer
Studiestart (Antatt)
20. juni 2026
Primær fullføring (Antatt)
30. juni 2028
Studiet fullført (Antatt)
31. desember 2028
Datoer for studieregistrering
Først innsendt
17. juni 2026
Først innsendt som oppfylte QC-kriteriene
22. juni 2026
Først lagt ut (Faktiske)
24. juni 2026
Oppdateringer av studieposter
Sist oppdatering lagt ut (Faktiske)
9. juli 2026
Siste oppdatering sendt inn som oppfylte QC-kriteriene
7. juli 2026
Sist bekreftet
1. juni 2026
Mer informasjon
Begreper knyttet til denne studien
Nøkkelord
Andre studie-ID-numre
- BAM_lab_MI_01
Plan for individuelle deltakerdata (IPD)
Planlegger du å dele individuelle deltakerdata (IPD)?
NEI
IPD-planbeskrivelse
Corresponding individual level data will be made available upon request.
Legemiddel- og utstyrsinformasjon, studiedokumenter
Studerer et amerikansk FDA-regulert medikamentprodukt
Nei
Studerer et amerikansk FDA-regulert enhetsprodukt
Nei
Denne informasjonen ble hentet direkte fra nettstedet clinicaltrials.gov uten noen endringer. Hvis du har noen forespørsler om å endre, fjerne eller oppdatere studiedetaljene dine, vennligst kontakt register@clinicaltrials.gov. Så snart en endring er implementert på clinicaltrials.gov, vil denne også bli oppdatert automatisk på nettstedet vårt. .