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A Virtual Reality Study of Cognitive Biases in Body Dysmorphic Disorder

NCT03773549 · Status: COMPLETED · Type: OBSERVATIONAL · Enrollment: 58

Last updated 2019-09-26

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Previous research shows that individuals with Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) misinterpret ambiguous social information in a negative and threatening manner. These erroneous threat appraisals are thought to maintain disorder symptomatology and psychosocial impairment by reinforcing individuals' distorted self-image and ideas of social undesirability. Thus, maladaptive interpretation biases represent an important treatment target for this population; however, existing bias assessments and modification protocols are limited by the hypothetical and distal nature of scenarios and do not capture momentary experiential threat processes. The proposed study seeks to test virtual reality (VR) technology as a novel, in vivo means of eliciting, identifying, and measuring threat interpretation biases in a clinical sample to better understand the fear/threat structure activated during social interactions in BDD. Findings have the potential to enhance our understanding of disorder maintenance and identify more nuanced treatment targets. This study represents a critical first step in the long-term goal of harnessing VR gaming technology to supercharge existing treatment approaches for this debilitating illness.

Conditions

  • Body Dysmorphic Disorders
  • Healthy

Interventions

OTHER

Virtual reality experience

Expose all participants (healthy and control) to virtual reality videos while collecting reactivity and self-report outcome measures.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Massachusetts General Hospital

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Sabine Wilhelm, Ph.D · Massachusetts General Hospital

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2019-03-01
Primary Completion
2019-09-20
Completion
2019-09-20

Countries

  • United States

Study Locations

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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 NCT03773549 on ClinicalTrials.gov