Chatbot Intervention Effects on Resting-State Brain Function in Anhedonia
7 juli 2026 uppdaterad 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.
Studieöversikt
Status
Rekrytering
Betingelser
Intervention / Behandling
Detaljerad beskrivning
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.
Studietyp
Interventionell
Inskrivning (Beräknad)
80
Fas
- Inte tillämpbar
Kontakter och platser
Det här avsnittet innehåller kontaktuppgifter för dem som genomför studien och information om var denna studie genomförs.
Studiekontakt
- Namn: Benjamin Becker
- Telefonnummer: (852) 3917-5097
- E-post: bbecker@hku.hk
Studieorter
-
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Sichuan
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Chengdu, Sichuan, Kina
- Rekrytering
- University of Electronic Science and Technology of China
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Kontakt:
- Benjamin Becker, Dr
- Telefonnummer: (852) 3917-5097
- E-post: bbecker@hku.hk
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Deltagandekriterier
Forskare letar efter personer som passar en viss beskrivning, så kallade behörighetskriterier. Några exempel på dessa kriterier är en persons allmänna hälsotillstånd eller tidigare behandlingar.
Urvalskriterier
Åldrar som är berättigade till studier
- Vuxen
Tar emot friska volontärer
Ja
Beskrivning
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
Det här avsnittet ger detaljer om studieplanen, inklusive hur studien är utformad och vad studien mäter.
Hur är studien utformad?
Designdetaljer
- Primärt syfte: Grundläggande vetenskap
- Tilldelning: Randomiserad
- Interventionsmodell: Parallellt uppdrag
- Maskning: Dubbel
Vapen och interventioner
Deltagargrupp / Arm |
Intervention / Behandling |
|---|---|
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Experimentell: 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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Vad mäter studien?
Primära resultatmått
Resultatmått |
Åtgärdsbeskrivning |
Tidsram |
|---|---|---|
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Intervention-Related Changes in Resting-State Functional Connectivity After the Intervention
Tidsram: 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.
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Baseline before the first chatbot interaction and Week 1 after completion of the chatbot intervention.
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Sekundära resultatmått
Resultatmått |
Åtgärdsbeskrivning |
Tidsram |
|---|---|---|
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Intervention-Related Changes in Spontaneous Activity After the Intervention
Tidsram: Baseline before the first chatbot interaction and Week 1 after completion of the chatbot intervention.
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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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Samarbetspartners och utredare
Det är här du hittar personer och organisationer som är involverade i denna studie.
Studieavstämningsdatum
Dessa datum spårar framstegen för inlämningar av studieposter och sammanfattande resultat till ClinicalTrials.gov. Studieposter och rapporterade resultat granskas av National Library of Medicine (NLM) för att säkerställa att de uppfyller specifika kvalitetskontrollstandarder innan de publiceras på den offentliga webbplatsen.
Studera stora datum
Studiestart (Beräknad)
20 juni 2026
Primärt slutförande (Beräknad)
30 juni 2028
Avslutad studie (Beräknad)
31 december 2028
Studieregistreringsdatum
Först inskickad
17 juni 2026
Först inskickad som uppfyllde QC-kriterierna
22 juni 2026
Första postat (Faktisk)
24 juni 2026
Uppdateringar av studier
Senaste uppdatering publicerad (Faktisk)
9 juli 2026
Senaste inskickade uppdateringen som uppfyllde QC-kriterierna
7 juli 2026
Senast verifierad
1 juni 2026
Mer information
Termer relaterade till denna studie
Nyckelord
Andra studie-ID-nummer
- BAM_lab_MI_01
Plan för individuella deltagardata (IPD)
Planerar du att dela individuella deltagardata (IPD)?
NEJ
IPD-planbeskrivning
Corresponding individual level data will be made available upon request.
Läkemedels- och apparatinformation, studiedokument
Studerar en amerikansk FDA-reglerad läkemedelsprodukt
Nej
Studerar en amerikansk FDA-reglerad produktprodukt
Nej
Denna information hämtades direkt från webbplatsen clinicaltrials.gov utan några ändringar. Om du har några önskemål om att ändra, ta bort eller uppdatera dina studieuppgifter, vänligen kontakta register@clinicaltrials.gov. Så snart en ändring har implementerats på clinicaltrials.gov, kommer denna att uppdateras automatiskt även på vår webbplats .