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Recording Heart Rate Variability During Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprocessing With or Without Eye Movement

NCT02565563 · Status: WITHDRAWN · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL

Last updated 2016-04-08

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

The purpose of the study is to gain greater insight into Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprocessing (EMDR). EMDR is an NHS recommended treatment, which can significantly reduce trauma symptoms. There is some debate regarding how it actually works, however there is evidence to suggest that the eye movements component helps reduce anxiety and increase relaxation levels. To measure these arousal levels during EMDR previous research has used electrocardiography (ECG) to measure heart rate, which offers insight into the effectiveness of eye movements (EM). All studies to date have used ECG to measure arousal levels which requires technical knowledge to administer and interpret. Furthermore, applying electrodes to a patient experiencing PTSD may heighten anxiety. The present study will use new technology which is a small device that would be gently attached to the end of the patient's index finger. This device is very similar to one that measures oxygen levels in the blood and therefore is a very simple piece of equipment and should cause no discomfort to the patient. The study also requires patient's faces to be video recorded throughout and it will only be their face that is recorded. This is to match the stages of treatment (i.e. when EM starts and stops) to their corresponding arousal level outcome. The new technology will digitally measure the patient's anxious and relaxed arousal levels during EM and no EM treatment sessions. 10 NHS patients would be recruited to receive two treatment sessions; one with EM and one without and then continue with treatment as usual without any of the recording devices. EM and no EM phases occur at least three times within a treatment session and therefore several measurements can be taken and analysed.

Conditions

  • Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Interventions

OTHER

Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprocessing

The purpose of this study is not to assess the device itself. The new device will seek to measure heart rate variabilty during the administration of the treatment EMDR. It will measure the patients sympathetic nervous systems (anxiety arousal). Previous reseach studies have used Electrocardiography (ECG) and the purpose of this study is to determine whether or not this device will obtain similar findings as ECG has done.

DEVICE

HeartMath measuring Heart Rate Variability (HRV)

This small device will be attached to the patients finger to allow their heart rate variability to be measured.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • NHS Tayside

    collaborator OTHER_GOV

  • University of Edinburgh

    lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation
NON_RANDOMIZED
Purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
NONE
Model
CROSSOVER

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2015-10-31
Primary Completion
2016-02-29
Completion
2016-03-31

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Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT02565563 on ClinicalTrials.gov