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Deep Brain Reorienting in Post-traumatic Stress Disorder

NCT04317820 · Status: ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 234

Last updated 2026-02-27

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

This study will evaluate the efficacy of a therapeutic treatment, Deep Brain Reorienting (DBR), for PTSD (Post-traumatic Stress Disorder). Participants will be randomized to either the DBR treatment, or wait-list condition.

Conditions

  • PTSD
  • Post-traumatic Stress Disorder

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Deep Brain Reorienting (DBR)

Trauma processing through DBR involves bringing up a traumatic memory and encouraging the client to focus on tensions arising in the muscles of the shoulders, neck, head and face (i.e., those involved in orienting toward a threatening person/event). The rationale is as follows: Physiologically, orienting to a stimulus, whether external or in the mind's eye, comes before any affective response to it. Here, it is hypothesized that there is activity in certain midbrain structures , i.e.,Superior Colliculi (SC) and Periaqueductal Gray (PAG). The deep layers of the SC bring on a brief (orienting) tension in the neck as well as preparing for eye movements, which is later followed by the processing of raw affect in the PAG. In session, if we can attend to this tension - even if we have to backtrack from the emotion that follows - we can establish an anchor in the body that precedes the affect and is hypothesized to protect against emotional overwhelm.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)

    collaborator OTHER_GOV

  • London Health Sciences Centre Research Institute OR Lawson Research Institute of St. Joseph's

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Ruth A Lanius, MD, PhD · London Health Sciences Centre Research Institute OR Lawson Research Institute of St. Joseph's

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE
Model
PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Max Age
65 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2020-09-29
Primary Completion
2027-07-31
Completion
2027-07-31

Countries

  • Canada

Study Locations

More Related Trials

Entities

Diseases

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 NCT04317820 on ClinicalTrials.gov