Gaze-Contingent Music Therapy Augmentation of CBT for Pediatric Anxiety

Overview

Background: Anxiety disorders are becoming more common among children and teenagers. Anxiety can lead to long-term physical and mental problems, such as depression. Treatments for anxiety disorders include medications as well as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT); CBT is a form of talking therapy. Both approaches work in only about 50 percent of cases. A new approach, called gaze-contingent music reward therapy (GCMRT), may help. Objective: To find out whether GCMRT combined with CBT is more effective than CBT alone. Eligibility: Children aged 8 to 17 years with separation anxiety disorder; generalized anxiety disorder; or social anxiety disorder. They must be enrolled in protocol 01-M-0192. Design: Participants will come to the clinic once a week for 4 weeks for CBT. Sometimes the participant will meet with the doctor alone; sometimes their parent may be present. They will do some computer-based tasks: They may be asked to push a button when a target appears; they may look at pictures of faces while the computer tracks their eye movements. Participants will take questionnaires each week. They will answer questions about their anxiety symptoms, feelings, and behavior. For the next 8 weeks, participants will participate in both CBT and 1 of 2 types of GCMRT. GCMRT is a computer-based task. Participants will look at pictures with many faces in them; while they do this, pleasant music will play and stop playing over a 12-minute period. Participants will have a final visit in week 13. They will take questionnaires. They will do final research tasks. Each visit lasts about 2 hours.

Study Description: This study compares the efficacy of Gaze-Contingent Music Reward Therapy (GCMRT) and a control form of GCMRT, both added to concurrent therapy. Efficacy will be examined for the severity of clinician-rated anxiety in medication-free children and adolescents with an anxiety disorder. For concurrent therapy, all patients will receive Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). With this design, efficacy is based on comparison of groups receiving CBT augmented with either active or control forms of GCMRT. A total of 150 patients will be enrolled in the study and will begin CBT therapy for three weeks. By the end of week three, participants will be randomly assigned in a one-to-one ratio to the two forms of GCMRT, which they will receive along with CBT for 9 weeks. From among the 150 patients who enroll in the study, 120 are expected to be randomized to one of the two forms of GCMRT. Objectives: Primary Objective: To test the efficacy of Gaze-Contingent Music Reward Therapy (GCMRT) for the augmentation of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) treatment for pediatric anxiety disorders. Secondary Objective: To test for efficacy on secondary outcome measures as well as to test for moderation and mediation of efficacy by measures of attention bias. Endpoints: Primary Endpoint: The severity of clinician-rated anxiety, blinded to the GCMRT condition, on the Pediatric Anxiety Rating Scale (PARS). Secondary Endpoints: Overall treatment response on the clinician-rated Clinician Global Impression scale and rated symptoms of anxiety on the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Disorders (SCARED) scale, as completed by parents and patients.