Chatbot Intervention Effects on Social and Monetary Incentive Processing in Anhedonia
7. juli 2026 oppdatert av: Benjamin Becker, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China
Effects of a Chatbot-Based Intervention on Behavioral Responsiveness and Neural Anticipation of Social and Monetary Incentives 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 social incentive processing in college students with elevated levels of depression and anhedonia by combining a randomized active-control intervention design with pre- and post-intervention Social Incentive Delay Task assessments during fMRI.
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, 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 social incentive processing in college students with elevated anhedonia and depressive symptoms. Social incentive processing is included because social approval, social feedback, and interpersonal reward are important sources of motivation in daily life and may be altered in individuals with elevated anhedonia. The Social Incentive Delay Task allows the study to examine behavioral and neural responses during the anticipation and receipt of social incentives. 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 the Social Incentive Delay Task during functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine psychological, behavioral, and neural effects of the intervention.
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, Dr
- Telefonnummer: (852) 3917-5097
- E-post: bbecker@hku.hk
Studiesteder
-
-
Sichuan
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Chengdu, Sichuan, Kina
- Rekruttering
- University of Electronic Science and Technology of China
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-
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 |
|---|---|
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Eksperimentell: 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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Hva måler studien?
Primære resultatmål
Resultatmål |
Tiltaksbeskrivelse |
Tidsramme |
|---|---|---|
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Neural Activity During Social Incentive Anticipation
Tidsramme: Baseline before the first chatbot interaction and Week 1 after completion of the chatbot intervention.
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Participants will undergo task-based BOLD fMRI while completing the Social Incentive Delay Task.
Neural responses during the anticipation of social incentive cues will be compared with responses to neutral cues using a general linear model.
Pre-to-post intervention changes will be evaluated from the resulting beta contrast estimates.
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Baseline before the first chatbot interaction and Week 1 after completion of the chatbot intervention.
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Neural Activity During Monetary Incentive Anticipation
Tidsramme: Baseline before the first chatbot interaction and Week 1 after completion of the chatbot intervention.
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Task-based BOLD fMRI data will be acquired while participants perform the Monetary Incentive Delay Task.
Neural responses associated with the anticipation of monetary reward and punishment will be estimated using a general linear model.
Beta contrast estimates will be calculated for monetary reward versus neutral and monetary punishment versus neutral conditions.
These estimates will be used to assess changes between baseline and post-intervention.
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Baseline before the first chatbot interaction and Week 1 after completion of the chatbot intervention.
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Sekundære resultatmål
Resultatmål |
Tiltaksbeskrivelse |
Tidsramme |
|---|---|---|
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Behavioral Responsiveness to Social Incentive Cues
Tidsramme: Baseline before the first chatbot interaction and Week 1 after completion of the chatbot intervention.
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Reaction time, accuracy, and hit rate will be calculated separately for social incentive cue conditions and neutral cue conditions in the Social Incentive Delay Task before and after the intervention.
Behavioral differences between social incentive and neutral cue conditions will also be derived and compared from baseline to post-intervention.
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Baseline before the first chatbot interaction and Week 1 after completion of the chatbot intervention.
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Behavioral responsiveness to monetary incentives
Tidsramme: Baseline before the first chatbot interaction and Week 1 after completion of the chatbot intervention.
|
The Monetary Incentive Delay Task will be administered before and after the intervention.
Reaction time, accuracy, and hit rate will be extracted separately for monetary incentive cue conditions and neutral cue conditions, and changes in behavioral differences between monetary incentive and neutral cue conditions will be calculated.
|
Baseline before the first chatbot interaction and Week 1 after completion of the chatbot intervention.
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Samarbeidspartnere og etterforskere
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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_03
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
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