Clinical Research Directory

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Religious OCD

The purpose of the study is to examine the effects and feasibility of a specific form of psychotherapy, acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), on religiously oriented obsessive and compulsive disorder (OCD).

OCD Summer Treatment Program for Adolescents in Iceland

The aim of the study is to examine the effectiveness of OCD treatment delivered in a group format for adolescents during a two week intensive summer treatment program.

Preliminary Explorative Study of Magnetic Resonance-Guided Focused Ultrasound Surgery in Refractory Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Patients

The goal of this clinical trial is to evaluate If magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound works to treat refractory obsessive-compulsive disorder in adults. The main questions it aims to answer are: * What effectiveness does the magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound bring to the participants during study period? * What side effects do the participant have when treated with magnetic resonance-guide focused ultrasound? Participants will: * Finish scales to evaluate participants' level of cognitive function, depression and Compulsiveness. * Receive the treatment of magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound * Take the fMRI brain scanning before and after the treatment * Recovering

LHC-CIDI-5 in Hong Kong

The World Health Organization Composite International Diagnostic Interview-5th (CIDI-5) is a standardized diagnostic tool used to assess the prevalence of mental and substance use disorders over varying time frames (30 days, 12 months, and lifetime) based on the diagnostic criteria outlined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 5th edition (DSM-5) and International Classification of Diseases 10th edition (ICD-10). However, retrospective measurements like the CIDI-5 are susceptible to recall bias, especially for the lifetime experience, which can hinder the reporting accuracy with mental disorders. To mitigate this issue, the life history calendar (LHC) was introduced as an aid to assist respondents in recalling the timing of life events, enhancing the ability of the CIDI-5 to measure the lifetime prevalence of mental disorders. The LHC is a grid structure with columns representing time units and rows representing life domains under study. In a study conducted in Nepal, combining the CIDI-5 with the LHC resulted in a significant increase in the detection of mental disorders compared to using the CIDI-5 alone. This approach did not lead to an increase in false positives after clinical validation. This experiment aims to adapt a Hong Kong version of the LHC based on the Nepalese model and evaluate the effectiveness of the LHC-assisted CIDI-5 (LHC-CIDI-5) compared to the CIDI-5 alone in assessing mental disorders.

The Efficacy of Temporal Interference Stimulation in the Treatment of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of Temporal Interference (TI) stimulation in treating patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and to explore its potential neural mechanisms using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and electroencephalography (EEG).

Helping Adults With Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Succeed at Work

The purpose of this study is to compare two models of employment services for people with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) interested in finding and maintaining employment. All 40 participants will receive up to 12 sessions of the first-line treatment for OCD called exposure and response prevention, a form of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). Assigned by chance, half of the people will also receive Individual Placement and Support (IPS); the other half will receive standard vocational services (SVS). This study will compare these two approaches for helping adults with OCD find and maintain work.

Feasibility of Modulating Cognitive Control in OCD

This study tests out procedures to look at whether a type of brain stimulation called transcranial magnetic stimulation impacts flexible shifts in behavior in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). This study examines whether study procedures are feasible and acceptable to people participating in the study, but does not determine whether this type of brain stimulation causes changes.

Aerobic Exercise and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Symptoms

The purpose of this study is to examine the acute effects of exercise on cognitive flexibility and symptom reactivity. The main questions it aims to answer are: Does moderate intensity physical activity reduce subjective distress, compulsive urges, and intrusions- and increase cognitive flexibility- in adults with obsessive-compulsive disorder compared to low-intensity physical activity? Researchers will compare low- to moderate-intensity exercise to see if moderate physical activity increases cognitive flexibility and reduces symptom reactivity in adults with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Participants will: Complete self-report surveys, psychiatric interviews, and cognitive tasks. Be assigned to either a low- or moderate-intensity exercise condition and complete physical activity. Repeat cognitive and symptom measures following the exercise intervention.

DBS for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

There are two primary approaches to the treatment of OCD, pharmacotherapy and cognitive behavior therapy (CBT). Lack of therapeutic success with one approach leads to trials of the alternative approach or a combination of the two. A rarely used third therapy approach, appropriate for only the most severely afflicted and treatment resistant patients, is neurosurgical ablation of certain brain regions involved in mood and anxiety. The neurosurgical ablation procedures are irreversible in nature, and involve the destruction of specific volumes of brain tissue through various controlled means. Surgical procedures include cingulotomy, subcaudate tractotomy, limbic leucotomy which is a combination of the first two procedures and capsulotomy. DBS therapy is an alternative to neurosurgical procedures, specifically anterior capsulotomy, for patients with chronic, severe OCD which has proven resistant to primary pharmacological and/or behavior therapy options. Results from 26 severe, treatment-resistant OCD patients treated with DBS at four collaborating centers, three in the US, and one in Europe are summarized in great detail in pages 12-22 of the provided/attached "Reclaim Summary of Safety and Probable Benefit."

Neurobehavioral Investigations of Approach Dynamics in the Ventral Striatum

Traditional strategies for diagnosing psychiatric disorders focus on definitions based on constellations of co-occurring symptoms. Tracking symptom severity across therapy arcs relies on administering scales that again ask questions about symptoms. These strategies have allowed some degree of standardization but suffer from having a phenomenological rather than mechanistic foundation (in terms of diagnosis) as well as subjectivity and temporal sparseness (in terms of measurement). The investigators apply a transdiagnostic framework based on the neurobiological concept of approach behavior. Several psychiatric disorders (including OCD, uni- and bipolar depression, PTSD and anxiety disorders, and addiction disorders) are characterized by dysfunction in approach behavior. The investigators study the neurobehavioral basis of approach dysfunction in a cohort of individuals with severe OCD and bipolar disorder (BD). To study these behaviors, the investigators deploy a suite of wearables and peripherals (Oura ring, Apple Watch, iPhone, audioband) that allow continuous and dense measurement of behaviors relevant to the approach hypothesis: socialization, activity, and sleep patterns. The investigators perform these measurements in two selected environments. One is a novel apartment-style setting (neurobehavioral unit, NBU) that combines the high-bandwidth data acquisition capability of a lab with the naturalistic relevance and comfort of the home. The second is the truly natural and maximally ethologically relevant setting of the ambulatory "home" environment in which people spend the majority of their time. The participants will be individuals planned for deep brain stimulation (DBS) implant for their OCD or BD. The bi-directional (stimulate as well as record) nature of the DBS systems will allow neural recordings that the investigators will synchronize with the behavioral data streams. The investigators will apply predictive computational models in conjunction with the causal manipulation provided by stimulation to test mechanistic hypothesis relating neurophysiology, behavior, and clinical status. In Aim 1, The investigators study reward-driven decision making by employing an augmented reality approach-avoidance task in the NBU. In Aim 2, the investigators test the neurobehavioral models' ability to predict clinical status from passively (and therefore low burden to patient-participants) acquired data in the "home" environment. In Aim 3, the investigators identify neural predictors of the patterns of sleep dysregulation associated with these disorders using the unique environment of the NBU. In Aim 4, the investigators examine critical concepts of ethics and ethology that arise with this new field of naturalistic, chronic brain-behavior relationship investigation. The investigators hope that methods validated and lessons learned in this project will improve understanding of the mechanistic basis of a range of psychiatric disorders and thereby allow greater rational design of therapeutic delivery.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Insight, Trauma, and Links to Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders

This study aims to better understand Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) by examining the types and patterns of OCD symptom presentation. The investigators seek to determine how these symptoms impact overall daily functioning. The study will also explore factors contributing to loss of insight in individuals with OCD, focusing on the potential roles of trauma, personality traits, and disorder severity. This may assist in identifying subgroups of patients who respond more favorably to treatment. Additionally, the study will investigate how individuals with OCD and schizophrenia spectrum symptoms respond to combined sensory stimuli (e.g., auditory and tactile). The goal is to determine whether these responses are associated with specific brain processing patterns, trauma history, or characteristics of compulsive behavior. Insights from this research may help clarify why certain individuals develop repetitive behaviors such as checking and rituals. Participants will be adults aged 18 to 65 diagnosed with OCD or schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Recruitment will occur through psychiatric clinics in Parma. Participation requires signed informed consent.

iCBT for Adult Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

The goal of the study is to assess the feasibility, acceptability, and potential effects of therapist-guided internet-delivered cognitive-behavior therapy (iCBT) for adult obsessive-compulsive disorder, using a recently developed digital platform.

Comparing Exposure v Imagery Rescripting in People With OCD: a SCED

Individuals with OCD may experience intrusive future orientated thoughts and images, which are extremely distressing and interfering in life. This project aims to explore whether imagery rescripting or exposure may be a more effective intervention for individuals with OCD experiencing such images.

RNS for Treatment-resistant Obsessive-compulsive Disorder

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of personalized responsive neurostimulation (RNS) therapy guided by stereoelectroencephalography (SEEG) in patients with treatment-resistant obsessive-compulsive disorder (TR-OCD).

DBS for Treatment-resistant Obsessive-compulsive Disorder

The primary purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of deep brain stimulation (DBS) implantation targeting the anteromedial region of subthalamic nucleus (amSTN), or nucleus accumbens (NAc), or bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST), or ventral capsule/ventral striatum (VC/VS), or the ventral anterior limb of the internal capsule (vALIC) in patients with treatment-resistant obsessive-compulsive disorder (TR-OCD).