Recruiting
Phase 1

Writing Intervention

Sponsor:

UCLA

Code:

NCT05524597

Conditions

Social Psychology

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 65+

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

Interventions

Writing Intervention

Study Details

Brief summary:

UCLA researchers looking for healthy older adults (aged 65+) to participate in a study investigating how writing about experiences can affect your brain and body.

Once a week for 6 weeks, participants will write about their experiences and fill out online questionnaires. Participants will also come to the UCLA campus to complete a neuroimaging session (fMRI), provide a blood spot sample, and fill out questionnaires 2 times: once prior to the 6-week writing period and once immediately after the 6-week writing period.

Conditions

Social Psychology

Study ID

NCT05524597

Start date

Mar 13, 2023

Status verified date

Jul, 2025

Completion date

Dec, 2026

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Dec, 2026

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 65+

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Healthy adults age 65 years and older

Exclusion Criteria:

1. current smokers
2. active, uncontrolled medical disorders
3. chronic infection (e.g., Hepatitis C, HIV)
4. use of certain medications (steroid use, opioid use)
5. psychiatric disorders (e.g., current major depression, bipolar disorder)
6. body mass index (BMI) greater than 35
7. left-handed
8. claustrophobic
9. metal in body

Other exclusion criteria may apply.

Study Design

Enrollment

200 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Randomized

Intervention Model

Parallel Assignment

Primary purpose

Basic Science

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: Writing about Experiences

Participants will be asked to write about experiences with familiar individuals in their lives.

placebo comparator: Writing about Places

Participants will be asked to write about experiences with familiar places in their lives.

Interventions

Writing Intervention

Participants will be asked to write about different kinds of experiences.

Primary outcome measure

  • Change in Psychological Distress [ Time Frame: Baseline, 6 weeks, 10 weeks ]
  • Change in Social Support [ Time Frame: Baseline, 6 weeks, 10 weeks ]
  • Change in Social Participation [ Time Frame: Baseline, 6 weeks, 10 weeks ]
  • Change in Inflammatory Gene Expression [ Time Frame: Baseline, 6 weeks, 10 weeks ]
  • Change in Dorsal Anterior Cingulate Cortex (dACC) Activity in response to stress [ Time Frame: Baseline, 6 weeks ]
  • Change in Anterior Insula Activity in response to stress [ Time Frame: Baseline, 6 weeks ]
  • Change in Amygdala Activity in response to threat [ Time Frame: Baseline, 6 weeks ]
  • Change in Ventral Striatum Activity in response to prosocial behavior [ Time Frame: Baseline, 6 weeks ]
  • Change in Septal Area Activity in response to prosocial behavior [ Time Frame: Baseline, 6 weeks ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Naomi Eisenberger, Ph.D.

3108494330neisenbe@ucla.edu

Locations

Center for Cognitive Neuroscience

Recruiting

Los Angeles, California, United States, 90095

Contacts

Naomi Eisenberger

3108494330neisenbe@ucla.edu

More Information

Sponsor

University of California, Los Angeles

Last update posted

Jul 14, 2026

Last verified

Jul, 2025

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-09. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by University of California, Los Angeles on 2026-07-14.