Biasing Food Value Construction

ConditionAnorexia Nervosa

Trial statusNot yet recruiting

Trial phaseNot applicable

Trial typeInterventional

Biological sexAll

Age16-45

SponsorUniversity of Chicago

About this trial

The goal of this clinical trial is to examine whether food value construction can be biased in individuals with anorexia nervosa. The main question it aims to answer is:

Can a simple training task increase the importance of relevant food attributes such that subsequent choices about what to eat in individuals with anorexia nervosa will look more like those of healthy eaters?

Participants will undergo a simple training paradigm where they view food items and focus on different attributes (e.g., its tastiness or healthiness). Participants will then be asked to make decisions about what foods they'd like to eat.

Eligibility criteria

This trial accepts healthy volunteers

Qualifiers

aged 16-35 years

male or female

able to read and speak English

Disqualifiers

history of concussion or neurological disease

full scale IQ estimate < 80;

taking medication that has been shown to affect attention or learning (i.e., second generation antipsychotics, memantine, methylphenidate, or modafinil)

current psychosis, bipolar disorder, or substance dependence

Trial design

Design model

Parallel

Treatments tested in this trial

Training food attributes
Behavioral
Participants will view images of foods and asked to focus on different attributes of the food (e.g., its healthiness or tastiness)

Treatment groups

150 Participants

are divided into 2 treatment groups

Group A: Anorexia NervosaExperimental treatment 1 intervention

Group B: Healthy ControlExperimental treatment 1 intervention

Trial outcomes

Primary outcomes

Change in Decision Weight for Tastiness vs. Healthiness Attributes in Food Choice

Food choice will be assessed using a binary choice task in which participants choose between pairs of food items that vary on healthiness, tastiness, savoriness, and overall preference. Choice data will be modeled using mixed-effects logistic regression, with delta-healthiness (difference in healthiness rating between paired items) and delta-tastiness (difference in tastiness rating) entered as predictors of choice. The parameter of interest is the regression coefficient (beta weight) for delta-tastiness relative to delta-healthiness, reflecting the degree to which choice is driven by tastiness versus healthiness attributes. We predict that tastiness beta weight will increase pre- to post-training in patients with AN.

Time frame

Immediately prior to and immediately following the training session (pre- and post-assessments, approximately 1 hour apart on the same day)

Sponsors and contacts

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University of Chicago

Lead sponsor

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

Collaborator

Source ClinicalTrials.gov

This trial is not recruiting at the moment. You can still explore other options: