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Studies

Interventional Recruiting

NCT05735860 on ClinicalTrials.gov

The Application of Virtual Reality Exposure Versus Relaxation Training in Music Performance Anxiety

Official title: Die Nutzung Virtueller Realität Zur Behandlung Von Auftrittsangst

  • Sponsor: Wuerzburg University Hospital
  • Enrollment: 46 (Estimated)
  • Study start: 2022-01-11 (Actual)
  • Primary completion: 2024-03-01 (Estimated)
  • Study completion: 2024-03-01 (Estimated)
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • InterventionModel: Parallel
  • InterventionModelDescription: randomized controlled / two-arm parallel assignment
  • Masking: Single (Participant)
  • PrimaryPurpose: Treatment

Brief Summary

The aim of the study is to investigate the effect of exposure treatment using virtual reality (VR) in musicians with performance anxiety compared to a relaxation technique on anxiety symptoms and corresponding cardiovascular parameters. The prospective, randomized clinical trial will include 46 musicians with musical performance anxiety (MPA). The experimental group will receive four exposure sessions in VR and the control group will receive four progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) sessions. Anxiety symptoms will be measured using a german version of the Performance Anxiety Questionnaire and a behavioral assessment test (BAT) before, after the treatment, and at 6-month follow-up. The cardiovascular reactivity will be assessed measuring the heart rate variability (HRV) throughout the BAT and the blood pressure before and after the BAT. Furthermore, blood and saliva samples will be collected before and after the BAT to assess endocrine stress parameters and epigenetic markers. The following hypotheses are derived: 1) Significant and lasting reduction of subjective MPA symptoms for the experimental group receiving VRET at T1 (post/ shortly after treatment) and T2 (follow-up/ 6 months after treatment) compared to T0 (pre/ before treatment). 2) Significant better reduction of subjective MPA symptoms for the experimental group receiving VRET compared to the control group receiving PMR at T1 (post/shortly after treatment) and T2 (follow-up/ 6 months after treatment) compared to T0 (pre/ before treatment). 3) The postulated effects in hypotheses 1 and 2 go along with a significantly higher HRV representing less cardiac stress during the BAT in case of a successful reduction of anxiety symptoms at T1 (post/ shortly after treatment) and T2 (follow-up/ 6 months after treatment) compared to T0 (pre/ before treatment).

Conditions

  • Music Performance Anxiety

Intervention / Treatment

  • Behavioral: Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy (VRET)
  • Behavioral: Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR)

Primary Outcome Measures

  • German Version of the Performance Anxiety Questionnaire (Fehm, 2002) (Changes from T0 (pre/ before treatment) to T1 (post/ approx. one week after treatment) and from T0 (pre/ before treatment) to T2 (follow-up/ 6 months after treatment))
    Measuring subjective MPA symptoms for solo and ensemble performances by assessing the total score for the scale solo performance (0-80) and the total score for the scale ensemble performance (0-80). Higher scores indicate more symptoms of music performance anxiety.
  • Heart rate variability (Changes from T0 (pre/ before treatment) to T1 (post/ approx. one week after treatment) and from T0 (pre/ before treatment) to T2 (follow-up/ 6 months after treatment))
    Measuring the cardiac reactivity throughout the BAT in virtual reality

Countries

Germany

Locations and Investigators

  • Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatics, and Psychotherapy, Center for Mental Health, University Hospital of Wuerzburg, Würzburg, Germany (Recruiting)
    • Jürgen Deckert, Prof. Dr. med.