Chatbot Intervention Effects on Social and Monetary Incentive Processing in Anhedonia
Effects of a Chatbot-Based Intervention on Behavioral Responsiveness and Neural Anticipation of Social and Monetary Incentives in Individuals With Anhedonia
研究概览
详细说明
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.
研究类型
注册 (估计的)
阶段
- 不适用
联系人和位置
学习联系方式
- 姓名：Benjamin Becker, Dr
- 电话号码：(852) 3917-5097
- 邮箱：bbecker@hku.hk
学习地点
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Sichuan
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Chengdu、Sichuan、中国
- 招聘中
- University of Electronic Science and Technology of China
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参与标准
资格标准
适合学习的年龄
- 成人
接受健康志愿者
描述
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.
学习计划
研究是如何设计的？
设计细节
- 主要用途：基础科学
- 分配：随机化
- 介入模型：并行分配
- 屏蔽：双倍的
武器和干预
参与者组/臂 |
干预/治疗 |
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实验性的：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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有源比较器：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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研究衡量的是什么？
主要结果指标
结果测量 |
措施说明 |
大体时间 |
|---|---|---|
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Neural Activity During Social Incentive Anticipation
大体时间：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
大体时间：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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次要结果测量
结果测量 |
措施说明 |
大体时间 |
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Behavioral Responsiveness to Social Incentive Cues
大体时间：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
大体时间：Baseline before the first chatbot interaction and Week 1 after completion of the chatbot intervention.
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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.
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Baseline before the first chatbot interaction and Week 1 after completion of the chatbot intervention.
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合作者和调查者
研究记录日期
研究主要日期
学习开始 (估计的)
初级完成 (估计的)
研究完成 (估计的)
研究注册日期
首次提交
首先提交符合 QC 标准的
首次发布 (实际的)
研究记录更新
最后更新发布 (实际的)
上次提交的符合 QC 标准的更新
最后验证
更多信息
与本研究相关的术语
其他研究编号
- BAM_lab_MI_03
计划个人参与者数据 (IPD)
计划共享个人参与者数据 (IPD)？
IPD 计划说明
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