Recruiting

Response Inhibition

Sponsor:

University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee

Code:

NCT05377125

Conditions

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Tricholemmoma

Skin-Picking

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18 - 60

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Interventions

Computerized cognitive training

Computerized placebo training

Study Details

Brief summary:

The impaired ability to suppress an inappropriate but pre-potent response (response inhibition; RI) characterizes several debilitating clinical problems, including obsessive-compulsive and related disorders (OCRD) such as obsessive-compulsive disorder, trichotillomania, and skin picking disorder. There is a critical need to develop an effective and durable treatment for OCRDs with demonstrable evidence for improving impaired RI. The purpose of our project is to examine the impact of a novel computerized intervention, response inhibition training (RIT), on neural indices of RI, and examine the mechanistic link between engagement of the neural RI targets and change in OCRD symptoms. To this end, this project will conduct a randomized clinical trial for individuals with OCD, trichotillomania, and/or skin picking disorders. Participants will be randomly assigned to 8 to 16 sessions of computerized RIT or a computerized placebo training. Various clinical, behavioral, and brain-imaging data will be acquired to evaluate the training effects at baseline, post-training, and 1-month follow-up periods.

Conditions

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Tricholemmoma

Skin-Picking

Study ID

NCT05377125

Start date

Dec 22, 2022

Status verified date

Jul, 2026

Completion date

Aug 31, 2027

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Jul 31, 2027

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18 - 60

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

  • age between 18 and 60
  • moderate level of OCRD symptoms (Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale total ≥ 16, Massachusetts General Hospital-Hair pulling Scale total ≥ 12, or Skin Picking Scale-Revised total ≥ 7)
  • a primary diagnosis of OCRD (i.e., OCD, TTM, or SPD)
  • estimated IQ > 80
  • presence of a RI deficits (SSRT ≥ 215ms).

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Current substance use disorder
  • Severe ADHD
  • Lifetime diagnosis of psychotic disorder, bipolar disorder, or schizophrenia
  • Current psychotherapy
  • Change in psychotropic medication status within 8 weeks before the study or during the study
  • Use of stimulant medication
  • Active suicidal risk
  • Contraindications for MRI procedures

Study Design

Enrollment

118 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Randomized

Intervention Model

Parallel Assignment

Primary purpose

Treatment

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: Response Inhibition Training (RIT)

Response Inhibition Training (RIT) is a about 40-level computer game designed to offer systematic practice of RI. Participants use the computer keyboard and mouse to respond to the demands of trials that are designed to offer training on response inhibition abilities, including suppressing pre-potent but irrelevant stimuli and responses. Each training session will last approximately 45 minutes. All participants will be offered a minimum of 8 sessions. Throughout training, we will continually monitor their behavioral RI index (= stop signal reaction time; SSRT) using a stop-signal task. If a participant's Index SSRT fails to reach a criterion-level reduction (i.e., approximately 1 SD) after the standard 8 session intervention, the RIT intervention will be extended up to 16 sessions until the criterion-level improvement in behavioral RI is attained.

placebo comparator: Placebo Training (PLT)

This training condition is designed to serve as an appropriate control condition for RIT, by providing no active ingredient of RI training components, while maintaining the overall training materials and structure similar. Similar to RIT, PLT uses the same task materials and a similar 40-level game structure. However, PLT will present simple RI-irrelevant visual judgment tasks to avoid changing RI-relate processes. The number of 45-min training sessions will be determined by their counterpart RIT participants through a yoked-control design.

Interventions

Computerized cognitive training

This intervention offers 45-minute computerized training sessions to each participant. This intervention aims to improve the individual's RI capabilities. All participants will receive 8 to 16 sessions after being randomized to this condition.

Computerized placebo training

This intervention offers 45-minute computerized placebo cognitive training sessions to each participant. This intervention aims to exert no focused training on RI capabilities. All participants will receive 8 to 16 sessions after being randomized to this condition.

Primary outcome measure

  • Change in obsessive-compulsive disorder symptom severity over time [ Time Frame: Week 0, Week 4, Week 8 ~ 12 ]
  • Change in compulsive hair pulling symptom severity over time [ Time Frame: Week 0, Week 4, Week 8 ~ 12 ]
  • Change in compulsive skin picking symptom severity over time [ Time Frame: Week 0, Week 4, Week 8 ~ 12 ]
  • Change in activation in the right inferior frontal cortex (rIFC) [ Time Frame: Week 0, Week 4 ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Hanjoo Lee, Ph.D.

414-229-5858leehj@uwm.edu

Christine Larson, Ph.D.

414-229-4996larsoncl@uwm.edu

Locations

UWM Anxiety Disorders Laboratory

Recruiting

Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, 53211

Contacts

Halle Berres, B.A.

262-364-6249ocd-research@uwm.edu

Hanjoo Lee, Ph.D.

414-229-5858leehj@uwm.edu

Principal Investigator:

Hanjoo Lee, Ph.D.

More Information

Sponsor

University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee

Last update posted

Aug 10, 2026

Last verified

Jul, 2026

Keywords

  • OCD; Trichotillomania; Excoriation; Response Inhibition

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-08. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee on 2026-08-10.