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Anorexia NervosaANEMANCT07861919

Anorexia Nervosa, Evaluation and MOdification of Attention

A study testing Attentional Bias Modification Training in people with Anorexia Nervosa and Attentional Bias, run by Lille University.

Not yet recruiting

Opening soon. The study is approved but enrolment has not started yet. Sites may already take enquiries.

Official record
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Trial summary

Anorexia nervosa (AN), characterized by abnormally low weight, a significant fear of gaining weight, and impaired body perception, is a psychopathological disorder with a 1% prevalence. This disorder has particularly high relapse and mortality rates, highlighting the need for improved patient care. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 15 to 35 years, women only
What is being tested?
Attentional Bias Modification Training
Could I receive a placebo?
Yes, some participants may receive a placebo
How many people
40 participants
Where
No sites listed yet
Study dates
30 Oct 2026to 1 Dec 2026
Phase
Interventional
Are there results?
Not yet: the study is under way

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 15 to 35 years
  • Women only
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Child, Adult

Who may be able to join

  • Diagnosis of anorexia nervosa (diagnosis made according to DSM-5 criteria)
  • Outpatient care as part of the management of anorexia nervosa
  • Be female
  • Be between the ages of 15 and 35
  • Having normal or corrected vision
  • Fluency in French
  • Having a BMI between 14 and 18 kg/m²
  • Having a computer and internet access at home

Who cannot join

  • History of neurologic or cardiovascular disorders
  • Medical treatment primarily targeting the cardiovascular system
  • Presence of an element requiring specific care other than anorexia nervosa
  • Diagnosis on an eating disorder other than anorexia nervosa
  • Inability to give informed consent
  • Pregnant or nursing woman
  • Under guardianship

About this study

Official title: Anorexia Nervosa, Evaluation and MOdification of Attention (Anorexie Mentale, évaluation et Modification de l'Attention ; le Titre Est dès le départ en Anglais, Mais voilà la Traduction au Cas où Ils Demandent)

Anorexia nervosa (AN), characterized by abnormally low weight, a significant fear of gaining weight, and impaired body perception, is a psychopathological disorder with a 1% prevalence. This disorder has particularly high relapse and mortality rates, highlighting the need for improved patient care. Indeed, patients are often hospitalized, which cuts them off from their environment and contributes to the high risk of post-hospitalization. It therefore seems essential to develop intervention tools that can be used in daily life, to continue treatment in a self-reliant way outside the hospital. Several factors contributing to the maintenance of AN were identified in the literature, including an attentional bias away from food cues. We can also mention a deficit of interoceptive awareness (i.e. low awareness of one's own bodily signals), as well as higher levels of anxiety than in the general population. Physiological dysfunction has also been observed, both at rest and when exposed to food stimuli. Acting on these aspects has led to clinical improvement in several disorders, including anxiety and alcohol use disorder. Given these elements, the investigators propose the implementation of attentional bias modification training in patients suffering from AN. Attentional bias modification training's first aim would be the reduction of food avoidance, while secondary hypotheses postulate that the intervention could have an effect on interoceptive abilities and physiological functioning. This intervention, which can be used by patients themselves, has also shown its effectiveness in reducing anxiety. A reduction in anorexic symptoms and prognosis improvement is expected.

Read the detailed description

Clinical criteria of anorexia nervosa (AN) include an abnormally low weight due to severe dietary restrictions, an intense fear of gaining weight, and an alteration of body perception, characterized by the tendency to see oneself as larger than they really are. Cognitive theories of psychopathology describe cognitive factors as potential factors influencing disorders' development and maintenance. Those factors include attentional alterations, with an impaired attentional processing of food stimuli on anorexia nervosa. The literature on the subject yields heterogeneous results, but most recent articles using eye-tracking methodologies suggest an attentional avoidance of food stimuli, especially when the presented stimuli are highly caloric. In contrast, individuals from the general population exhibit an attentional bias towards food. Authors postulate that as food is necessary for survival, it is viewed as a positive and motivational stimulus, which could explain this bias. However, in anorexia nervosa, authors suggest that food could be viewed as threatening, as it would participate to weight gain, therefore explaining the attentional avoidance of food found in patients with AN. Some researchers postulated that acting on this attentional bias could be beneficial for patients with AN, and that this could be achieved via attentional bias modification training using a dot-probe task. In this paradigm, participants are exposed to a pair of pictures consisting of a food and a non-food pictures, with one of them being replaced by a probe (letter E or F) that participants have to identify as quickly and as accurately as possible. In an intervention aiming to decrease attentional avoidance of food, the probe would appear at the location of the food picture in majority of the trials, in order to bring participants to orient their attention towards food pictures, therefore reducing its avoidance. In the present study, this intervention is completed at home, with two weekly sessions during four weeks. This choice was made in order to bring patients new therapeutic tools without making their hospital stay longer. Indeed, staying at the hospital longer can isolate patients from their daily environment and make the transition back to this environment more difficult, increasing the risk of relapse. Moreover, by completing their sessions at home and on their own, patients become more independent, which could result in higher self-efficiency feelings and perception.

The intervention is hypothesized to have secondary effects on interoceptive abilities, as some authors suggest a link between attentional biases and interoception. Effects on autonomic functioning are also postulated, as attentional bias modification training has been found to have an effect on electrodermal activity in the general population. As patients with AN have been found to have impaired autonomic functions and interoceptive abilities, these secondary effects would also be beneficial to patients.

Being tested
Attentional Bias Modification Training
Keywords
Anorexia nervosa, Attentional bias, Psychophysiology, Food, Interoception
Medical subject headings
Anorexia Nervosa, Anxiety Disorders

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • Attentional Bias Modification TrainingOther

    One group, labelled as "experimental group (TR group)", receives an attentional bias modification training (ABMT) which aims to decrease avoidance of food by focusing attention on food stimuli, while the other group, labelled as "control group (CT group)" receives a sham ABMT, which acts as a control and does not aim to modify attentional orientation. Both groups complete eight at-home sessions consisting of dot-probe task trials. In the TR group, the probe appears at the location of the food stimulus in 90% of trials (in order to orient participants' attention towards those stimuli), while in the CT group, the probe appears randomly and with equal probability behind the food or non-food stimulus in all trials (classic dot-probe task).

Study groups in NCT07861919
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
Training group (TR group)Experimentalcompletion of ABMT sessions aiming to decrease attentional avoidance of food. In a modified dot-probe task with pairs of food and non-food stimuli, the probe appears at the location of the food stimulus in 90% of the trials, aiming to focus participants' attention on those stimuli.
Receives: Other: Attentional Bias Modification Training
Control group (CT group)Sham comparatorcompletion of ABMT sessions not aiming to modify attentional orientation. In a classic dot-probe task with pairs of food and non-food stimuli, the probe appears at the location of the food stimulus or the non-food stimulus randomly and with equal probability across trials.
Receives: Other: Attentional Bias Modification Training

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Attentional bias towards food

    Attentional bias towards food, measured with reaction times (measured in milliseconds) and accuracy of responses, during a dot-probe and an ARDPEI tasks. The combination of the two for each type of stimuli allow for the calculation of a Speed-Accuracy Composite Score (SACS, no unit of measure) for both food and non-food stimuli. An attentional bias towards food score is then obtained by subtracting the SACS obtained when the probe appears at the location of the non-food picture to the SACS obtained when the probe appears at the location of the food picture.

    Measured: Measured before and after the ABMT intervention (Baseline and week 4).

Secondary outcomes (12)
  1. Interoceptive abilities

    Attentional bias towards food, measured with fixation time and saccade latency (measured in milliseconds), during a dot-probe and an ARDPEI tasks. An attentional bias towards food score is then calculated by subtracting fixation time and saccade latency when the probe appears at the location of the non-food picture to the fixation time and saccade latency when the probe appears at the location of the food picture.

    Measured: Measured before and after the ABMT intervention (Baseline and week 4).

  2. Cardiac activity

    Cardiac activity, measured via an electrocardiogram, with two electrodes placed on the wrists. It is measured through heart rate (in beats per minute).

    Measured: Baseline and week 4

  3. Autonomic reactivity to food stimuli

    Autonomic reactivity to food stimuli, measured via an EKG for cardiac reactivity, a respiratory belt for respiratory reactivity, and electrodes placed on participants' fingers for electrodermal reactivity. Measured before and after the ABMT interventions (visits 1 and 2).

    Measured: visits 1 and 2

  4. Psychometric outcomes

    Psychometric outcomes, measured through validated questionnaires administered before and after the ABMT interventions (visits 1 and 2).

    • Eating disorders symptoms, EDE-Q (Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire). EDE-Q score is calculated by adding the score of each of the items.
    • Depression, Anxiety, and Stress levels, DASS-42 (Depression, Anxiety, Stress, Scale - 42 items). DASS-42 score is calculated by adding the score of each of the items.
    • Body image and body shape concerns, BSQ (Body Shape Questionnaire). BSQ score is calculated by adding the score of each of the items.
    • Emotional regulation difficulties, DERS-SF (Difficulties in Emotional Regulation - Short Form). DERS-SF score is calculated by adding the score of each of the items.

    Measured: visits 1 and 2

  5. Electrodermal activity

    Electrodermal activity, measured via electrodes specifically designed to measure electrodermal activity, placed on the non-dominant hand's index and major. It is measured through amplitude of skin conductance response (μS).

    Measured: Measured before and after the ABMT intervention (Baseline and week 4).

  6. Respiratory activity

    1. Respiratory activity, measured via a respiratory belt placed on the sternum. It is measured through respiratory frequency (cycles per minute)

    Measured: Time Frame: Measured before and after the ABMT intervention (Baseline and week 4)

  7. Cutaneous temperature

    Cutaneous temperature, measured via an electrode specifically designed to measure cutaneous temperature places on the non-dominant hand's ring finger. It is measured through the finger's temperature (in Celsius degrees).

    Measured: Time Frame: Measured before and after the ABMT intervention (Baseline and week 4)

  8. Eating disorders symptoms

    Eating disorders symptoms, measured via the Eating Disorder Examination - Questionnaire (EDE-Q), which gives a score between 0 and 132, with a higher score meaning more severe eating disorders symptoms (worse outcome). The score is calculated by summing the items' score together.

    Measured: Measured before and after the ABMT intervention (Baseline and week 4)

  9. Depression, Anxiety, and Stress levels

    Depression, Anxiety, and Stress levels, measured via the Depression, Anxiety, Stress scale - 42 items (DASS-42), which gives a score between 0 and 126, with a higher score meaning higher levels of depression, anxiety, and stress (worse outcome). The score is calculated by summing the items' score together.

    Measured: Time Frame: Measured before and after the ABMT intervention (Baseline and week 4)

  10. Body image and body shape concerns

    Body image and body shape concerns, measured via the Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ), which gives a score between 34 and 204, with a higher score meaning more body image and body shape concerns (worse outcome). The score is calculated by summing the items' score together.

    Measured: Time Frame: Measured before and after the ABMT intervention (Baseline and week 4)

  11. Emotional regulation difficulties

    Emotional regulation difficulties, measured via the Difficulties with Emotional Regulation Scale - Short Form (DERS-SF) which gives a score between 18 and 90, with a higher score meaning greater emotional regulation difficulties (worse outcome). The score is calculated by summing the items' score together.

    Measured: Measured before and after the ABMT intervention (Baseline and week 4)

  12. Interoceptive sensibility

    Interoceptive sensibility, measured via the Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness (MAIA), which gives a score between 0 and 160, with a higher score meaning greater interoceptive sensibility (better outcome). The score is calculated by summing the items' score together.

    Measured: Measured before and after the ABMT intervention (Baseline and week 4)

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted6 Oct 2026
  2. Study start30 Oct 2026 (estimated)
  3. Primary completion1 Dec 2026 (estimated)
  4. Study completion1 Dec 2026 (estimated)

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase N/A
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Parallel groups
Model description
One group, labelled as "experimental group (TR group)", receives an attentional bias modification training (ABMT) which aims to decrease avoidance of food by focusing attention on food stimuli, while the other group, labelled as "control group (CT group)" receives a sham ABMT, which acts as a control and does not aim to modify attentional orientation. Both groups complete eight at-home sessions consisting of dot-probe task trials. In the TR group, the probe appears at the location of the food stimulus in 90% of trials (in order to orient participants' attention towards those stimuli), while in the CT group, the probe appears randomly and with equal probability behind the food or non-food stimulus in all trials (classic dot-probe task).
Masking
Double blind
Who is masked
Participant, Investigator
Enrolment
40 participants (estimated)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT07861919
Sponsor's protocol ID
D2025-8
Acronym
ANEMA
Status last verified
Oct 2026
First submitted
28 May 2026
Last updated
6 Oct 2026
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing Attentional Bias Modification Training in people with Anorexia Nervosa and Attentional Bias, run by Lille University.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 8 inclusion and 7 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: opening soon, as of the sponsor's last update on 6 Oct 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. Some participants in this study may receive a placebo. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Attentional bias towards food (time frame: Measured before and after the ABMT intervention (Baseline and week 4).). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 6 Oct 2026; AzTrials last refreshed its copy on 6 Nov 2026.

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