Neural Correlates of Stress Reduction

Massachusetts General Hospital140 enrolled

Overview

This study will identify neural mechanisms associated with changes in emotion regulation following participation in stress reduction programs.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

BASIC_SCIENCE

Masking

TRIPLE

Enrollment

140

Conditions

Stress Psychological Stress Life Stress Emotional Stress Social Stress

Interventions

Stress ReductionBEHAVIORAL

We are comparing 2 well-studied approaches to stress reduction. All participants will receive stress reduction instructions that have already been proven to effectively reduce stress. Our goal is to compare the neural mechanisms associated with both approaches.

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 18 YearsMax age: 50 YearsHealthy volunteers:

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * 18-50 years of age * Right-handed * Stressed Exclusion Criteria: * Lifetime history of schizophrenia or psychosis * Psychiatric illness * History of seizure or significant head trauma * Use of psychotropic medications * Metallic implants or devices contraindicating magnetic resonance imaging * Claustrophobia * Pregnancy

Locations (1)

Massachusetts General Hospital

Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Changes in gray matter structure

Study participants will undergo an MRI scan before and after attending an 8-week stress reduction program.

Time frame: 8 weeks

Secondary Outcomes

Emotion regulation

Study participants will do an emotion regulation task while they are in the MRI scanner. We will assess brain activity and skin conductance during the task. Changes in these measures will be assessed before and after enrollment in the stress reduction program

Time frame: 8-weeks

Data from ClinicalTrials.gov

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