NCT04568109

Effect of Cognitive-behavior Therapy on Fear Responses to Body Symptoms in Patients With Panic Disorder

Effect of Cognitive-behavior Therapy on Panic Symptomatology and the Activation of the Brain's Fear Network to Panic-related Body Symptoms in Patients With Panic Disorder

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 58 (actual)
• Sponsor: Philipps University Marburg · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 65 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

The present study aims to investigate a potential mechanism of successful CBT for panic disorder, i.e., the reduction of excessive anxious apprehension and fear responses to panic-related body symptoms in the context of CBT treatment. In the present non-randomized interventional study, effects of cognitive behavior therapy on reported symptoms and fear responses to panic-related body symptoms are investigated. It is expected that symptom improvement during CBT is associated with a decrease in the activation of the brain's fear network to panic-related body symptoms.

Detailed description

Changes in fear responses to body symptoms in the course of CBT are investigated in patients with PD by applying a highly standardized hyperventilation task (provoking panic-related body symptoms) prior to and after a manualized CBT or a waiting period. Activation of the brain's fear network (defensive activation) is indexed by the potentiation of the startle eyeblink response.

Conditions

• Panic Disorder With Agoraphobia
• Panic Disorder Without Agoraphobia

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Cognitive-behavior therapy	The manualized protocol (Gloster et al., 2011) comprise of 12 weekly sessions of CBT focusing on therapist-guided interoceptive and in-situ exposure exercises.

Timeline

• Start date: 2010-02-01
• Primary completion: 2014-04-10
• Completion: 2014-05-31
• First posted: 2020-09-29
• Last updated: 2020-09-29

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Germany