Study of Neuro-Cognitive Correlates of Pediatric Anxiety Disorders

Plain-language summary

Study Description: This study examines relations between neurocognitive and clinical features of pediatric anxiety disorders. The study uses neuro-cognitive tasks, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), as well as magneto- and electro-encephalography (M/EEG). Patients will be studied over one year, before and after receiving either one of two standard-of-care treatments: cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) or fluoxetine, a serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI). Healthy comparisons will be studied at comparable time points. Primary Objectives: To compare healthy youth and symptomatic, medication-free pediatric patients studied prior to receipt of treatment. The study seeks to detect relations between clinical features of anxiety disorders at baseline and a wide range of neurocognitive features associated with attention, memory, and response to motivational stimuli. Secondary Objectives: 1. To document relations between baseline neurocognitive features and response to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) or fluoxetine, as defined by the Pediatric Anxiety Rating Scale (PARS) and Clinical Global Improvement (CGI) Scale. 2. To document relations between post-treatment changes in neurocognitive features and anxiety symptoms on the PARS following treatment with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) or fluoxetine. 3. To document relations among broad arrays of clinical, cognitive, and neural measures Primary Endpoints: Indices of percent-signal change in hypothesized brain regions, comprising amygdala, striatum, and prefrontal cortex (PFC) for each fMRI and MEG paradigm. Secondary Endpoints: 1. Treatment-response as defined by a continuous measure, the Pediatric Anxiety Rating Scale score (PARS), and a categorial measure, the Clinical Global Improvement (CGI) score. 2. Levels of symptoms and behaviors evoked by tasks that engage attention, memory, and elicit responses to motivational stimuli.

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