Clinical Research Directory

Digital Mental Health Intervention for Nonsuicidal Self-Injury in Young Adults

This is a feasibility trial of a digital mental health intervention aimed at young adults (ages 18-25) with nonsuicidal self-injury and who are not currently engaged in mental health treatment. We will pilot three arms: a self-guided DMHI, the DMHI with low-intensity coaching, or an active control which will involve the delivery of non-interactive psychoeducational content via the same app interface. The primary goals of this project are to evaluate the feasibility of the intervention and trial procedures in preparation for a fully-powered randomized-controlled trial.

Effects of Lithium on Suicide Prevention in Adolescents and Young Adults With Bipolar Disorder in China

This study aims to use a retrospective cohort approach to explore the impact of lithium carbonate on suicide and self-harm related events among adolescents and young adults with bipolar disorder in China.The primary objective of this study is to investigate the effects of lithium carbonate on suicidal ideation in adolescents and young adults with bipolar disorder in China. Secondary objectives include exploring its effects on preventing suicide attempts, non-suicidal self-injury, and aggressive behaviors in this population.

Emotion Regulation Dysfunctions in NSSI Adolescents in Naturalistic Contexts

Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) is defined as direct, deliberate bodily harm without suicidal intention. Recent studies indicate that prevalence rates are increasing worldwide, in particular under adolescents, indicating a growing public health issue. An impaired ability to regulate negative emotion has been suggested to play a potential role in NSSI behavior. Some recent interventions aim at improving dysfunctional emotion regulation via 'acceptance'. Acceptance represents an objective, nonreactive, nonjudgmental, and calming emotion regulation strategy, partly based on the philosophy of dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) that has been widely used in the clinical treatment of NSSI behaviors. The aim of the present functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study is to examine whether adolescents with NSSI can implement the acceptance strategy in naturalistic emotional contexts (immersive video clips) and whether they differ from healthy controls in terms of behavioral and neural effects. To this end, the investigators recruit one group of NSSI adolescents (n=40) and one healthy control group (n=40), to compare the subjective emotional experience as well as underlying neural activity as measured by blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) fMRI. The investigators hypothesize that compared to HC, NSSI adolescents will experience stronger negative emotions and show dysregulated neural recruitment of brain systems engaged in emotional reactivity and regulations (e.g. limbic regions, default mode network, and frontal regions).

Altered Neural Pain Empathic Reactivity in NSSI Adolescents

Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) is defined as direct, deliberate bodily harm without suicidal intention. In recent years, growing evidence suggests that NSSI has become a worldwide public health issue. People with NSSI behaviors, especially adolescents, commonly exhibit emotion-related and interpersonal problems. Pain empathy represents an essential basal domain of socio-emotional processing and refers to the ability to empathize, connect and share with others' pain. However, altered empathic processing has not been systematically examined in adolescents with NSSI. To this end, the current functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study will recruit one group of NSSI adolescents (n=40) and one healthy control (HC) group (n=40), to compare their neural activity regarding pain empathy processing, which is measured by blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) fMRI. The investigators included conditions of physical pain empathy (stimuli depicting noxious stimulation to the limbs) and affective pain empathy (stimuli depicting faces expressing pain) as well as corresponding control stimuli. The investigators hypothesize that compared to HC, NSSI adolescents show increased empathic reactivity to physical pain stimuli in salience and arousal related brain regions but decreased empathic reactivity to affective pain empathic stimuli.

Impact of Emotional Reactivity on Dysfunctional Decision-Making in NSSI Adolescents

Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) is defined as direct, intentional physical injury without suicidal intention. Studies revealed that dysfunctional interpersonal relationships and reward-related decision-making may play crucial roles in this maladaptive behavior, especially in adolescents. These interpersonal decision contexts are characterized by constant updating of expectations of rewards and the actual received rewards as well as the associated emotional reactions. These processes have recently been computationally formalized as prediction errors (PE), specifically reward PEs, valence PEs, and arousal PEs (Heffner et al., 2021; Nat Hum Behav). In the current study, the investigators aim to investigate whether these PEs make discernible contributions to social decisions in the context of unfair experiences among adolescents with NSSI and matched healthy control adolescents (HC). Specifically the investigators hypothesized that: 1) reward and emotional PEs show significant predictions of punishment decisions in both groups, 2) however, compared to HC adolescents, the NSSI group will exhibit selective dysfunctions in emotional but not reward PEs leading to punish a norm proposer who provided unfair offers.

Social Feedback and Dysfunctional Risk Taking in NSSI Adolescents

Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) is defined as direct, intentional physical injury without suicidal intention. Problematic interpersonal relationships and decision-making have been demonstrated to play crucial roles in this maladaptive behavior, especially for adolescents. Accumulating evidence suggests that decision processes and risk-taking are strongly influenced by the affective state of the individual. However, whether these interactions are disrupted in NSSI adolescents has not been systematically examined. In the current study, the investigators modified one of the most widely used paradigms for measuring an individual's risk decision-making, the Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART). The investigators combine social reward (green balloon), punishment (red balloon), and control feedback (yellow balloon), to investigate whether the NSSI adolescents have dysfunctional risk-taking behavior while facing different social outcomes. The investigators recruit one group of NSSI adolescents (n = 40) and one health control (HC) group (n = 40), to compare their risk-related decisions during the emotional BART. The investigators hypothesize that compared to HC, NSSI adolescents will show altered effects of social reward and punishment on risk-related decision-making, in particular higher risk avoidance in the context of social punishment.