NCT04105868

Adolescent Attention to Emotion Study

Completed NA Results posted Last updated 13 November 2025

What this trial tests

NA trial testing Neurofeedback in Depression in 15 participants. Completed in 30 March 2025.

Timeline

16 October 2019

Primary endpoint
23 September 2024

30 March 2025

Quick facts

Lead sponsor	University of Pittsburgh
Phase	NA
Status	Completed
Study type	INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation	na
Design	single group
Masking	none
Primary purpose	basic science
Enrollment	15
Start date	16 October 2019
Primary completion	23 September 2024
Estimated completion	30 March 2025
Sites	1 location across United States

Drugs / interventions tested

• Neurofeedback

Conditions studied

• Depression — all drugs for Depression →

Sponsor

University of Pittsburgh

Who can join

Adults 13 to 15, female only, with Depression. Patients with the condition only — healthy volunteers not accepted.

Results — posted to ClinicalTrials.gov

Per-arm endpoint measurements with 95% confidence intervals where reported. Source: trial results section.

Affect-biased Attention Following Neurofeedback (Immediately Post-Intervention) Primary · Approximately 1 hour total: baseline assessment immediately before neurofeedback and post-neurofeedback assessment immediately after the ~1 hour training session on the same day.

To measure affect-biased attention, steady-state visual evoked potentials (SSVEPs) were derived from EEG and used to index the amount of stimulus-driven attention to negative distractors relative to task-relevant stimuli. Affect-biased attention was assessed immediately before and immediately after the real-time SSVEP neurofeedback training to evaluate changes within the same session. The outcome below reflects the post-neurofeedback SSVEP competition index (Task / \[Task + Distractor\]). Scores above .50 indicate greater attention to the task stimulus.

Group	Value	95% CI
Neurofeedback	.41	± .18

Sadness Ratings Following Laboratory Stressor (Immediately Post-Stressor) Secondary · Approximately 30 minutes total: baseline sadness rating immediately before and post-stressor rating immediately after the ~30-minute laboratory stressor on the same day.

Participants completed a laboratory stressor following real-time SSVEP neurofeedback training to assess how well the intervention buffered sadness reactivity. State sadness was assessed immediately before and immediately after the stressor using a 100-millimeter visual analog scale (VAS) ranging from "neutral" to "very sad." Higher scores indicate greater sadness. The value reported below reflects the post-stressor rating.

Group	Value	95% CI
Neurofeedback	2.80	± 5.85

Anxiety Rating Following Laboratory Stressor (Immediately Post-Stressor) Secondary · Baseline and following laboratory stressor (~30 minutes)

Participants completed a laboratory stressor following real-time SSVEP neurofeedback training to assess how well the intervention buffered sadness reactivity. State anxiety was assessed immediately before and immediately after the stressor using a 100-millimeter visual analog scale (VAS) ranging from "neutral" to "very anxious." Higher scores indicate greater anxiety. The value reported below reflects the post-stressor rating.

Group	Value	95% CI
Neurofeedback	3.29	± 4.58

Sponsor's own description

Rates of depression increase rapidly during adolescence, especially for girls, and, thus, research is needed to spur the development of novel interventions to prevent adolescent depression. This project seeks to determine if a novel visuocortical probe of affect-biased attention (i.e., steady-state visual evoked potentials derived from EEG) can 1) be used to prospectively predict depression using a multi-wave repeated measures design and 2) modify affect-biased attention and buffer subsequent mood reactivity using real time neurofeedback. This work could ultimately lead to improved identification of adolescents who are at high risk for depression and directly inform the development of mechanistic treatment targets to be used in personalized intervention prescriptions for high-risk youth.

Publications & conference data

1 peer-reviewed publication reference this trial (live from Europe PMC):

1. Using Neurofeedback from Steady-State Visual Evoked Potentials to Target Affect-Biased Attention in Augmented Reality.
   Huang X, Mak J, Wears A, Price RB, et al · · 2022 · cited 1× · PMID 36085716 · DOI 10.1109/embc48229.2022.9871982