An interventional study of Facial Microexpression Training in Anxiety, sponsored by University of Massachusetts, Worcester. Completed at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 30 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2025-09-04.
Sponsored by University of Massachusetts, Worcester · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment
High trait anxiety, a stable personality trait, is a risk factor for psychiatric disorders. Individuals with high trait anxiety have difficulty differentiating safety from threat, including visual information like emotional faces. This study aims to characterize visual system function in high trait anxiety. A portion of this study involves an intervention. For the intervention portion, a subset of participants will be asked to return for a lab visit upon completing the first portion of the study (multimodal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan). During this follow up visit, participants will complete a computer task that involves looking at faces and identifying emotions. Participants will complete this task either six months or twelve months after their MRI scan visit. Results from this research have the potential to inform novel therapies that target the visual system in individuals at risk for the development of psychiatric disorders.
The purpose of this study is to understand how people with anxious personalities process emotional facial expressions. The intervention portion of this study is part of a larger study. The first portion of this study consists of a screening visit with questionnaires, and a second visit with a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan and short computer tasks.
For the intervention portion of this study, a subset of participants will return to the lab for an in-person visit either six or twelve months after their MRI scan. This visit will last approximately two hours. Participants will be asked to complete a computer task where they will be asked to identify emotional face expressions and receive feedback on their performance. They will also complete questionnaires about their mood and emotions.
The primary purpose of this research is to gather scientific information about how people with anxiety process social and emotional information.
4,868 studies on the registry are indexed under Anxiety Disorders; 1,390 are open to participants now.
This study's enrollment of 23 is below the median of 80 across 4,174 interventional studies indexed under Anxiety Disorders.
Browse Anxiety Disorders studies →University of Massachusetts, Worcester is the lead sponsor of 288 studies on the registry; 54 are open to participants now.
Of its 25 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 18 (72%) have results posted.
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Exclusion Criteria:
The Micro Expression Training Task (METT) presents videos of subtle emotional face expressions; participants receive real-time feedback following forced choice emotional identification. The METT includes a brief pre-test, training, and then a post-test.
Behavioral: Facial Microexpression Training
The Micro Expression Training Task (METT) presents videos of subtle emotional face expressions; participants receive real-time feedback following forced choice emotional identification. The METT includes a brief pre-test, training, and then a post-test. Participants in this group will complete this task twelve month after their first visit.
Behavioral: Facial Microexpression Training
The METT is a well-validated task designed to improve perception of subtle changes in facial expressions, termed microexpressions. Participants with high trait anxiety will return to the lab approximately six months post scan visit to complete this computer-based task. They will receive feedback during the task on their accuracy.
Tolerability of the Micro Expression Training Task in Individuals With High Anxiety
Rates of completion of the behavioral task
Time frame: six or twelve months post-scan visit
| Milestone | 6 Month Micro Expression Training Task | 12 Month Micro Expression Training Task |
|---|---|---|
| Started | 7 | 8 |
| Completed | 5 | 6 |
| Not completed | 2 | 2 |
| Withdrew: Lost to follow-up | 2 | 1 |
| Withdrew: Computer error- task was only partially completed. | 0 | 1 |
Rates of completion of the behavioral task
| Participants | 6 Month Micro Expression Training Task | 12 Month Micro Expression Training Task |
|---|---|---|
| Tolerability of the Micro Expression Training Task in Individuals With High Anxiety | 5 | 6 |
Collected over 1 year. Non-serious events are listed at a 0% frequency threshold.
| Group | Deaths | Serious | Other |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 Month Micro Expression Training Task | 0/7 (0%) | 0/7 (0%) | 0/7 (0%) |
| 12 Month Micro Expression Training Task | 0/8 (0%) | 0/8 (0%) | 0/8 (0%) |
| Age, Categorical(Participants) | 6 Month Micro Expression Training Task | 12 Month Micro Expression Training Task | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| <=18 years | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Between 18 and 65 years | 7 | 8 | 15 |
| >=65 years | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Age, Continuous(years) | 6 Month Micro Expression Training Task | 12 Month Micro Expression Training Task | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mean | 25.08 ± 3.05 | 22.91 ± 3.29 | 23.92 ± 3.27 |
| Sex: Female, Male(Participants) | 6 Month Micro Expression Training Task | 12 Month Micro Expression Training Task | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Female | 5 | 5 | 10 |
| Male | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| Ethnicity (NIH/OMB)(Participants) | 6 Month Micro Expression Training Task | 12 Month Micro Expression Training Task | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hispanic or Latino | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Not Hispanic or Latino | 6 | 8 | 14 |
| Unknown or Not Reported | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Race (NIH/OMB)(Participants) | 6 Month Micro Expression Training Task | 12 Month Micro Expression Training Task | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| American Indian or Alaska Native | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Asian | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Black or African American | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| White | 3 | 6 | 9 |
| More than one race | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown or Not Reported | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Region of Enrollment(participants) | 6 Month Micro Expression Training Task | 12 Month Micro Expression Training Task | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 7 | 8 | 15 |
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University of Massachusetts, Worcester