Chatbot Intervention Effects on Resting-State Brain Function in Anhedonia
Condition(s) studied
Investigational drug(s) / intervention(s)
MI Chatbot Interaction: The experimental chatbot is designed to use principles of Motivational Interviewing to support participants in exploring their personal values, motivation for change, and daily behavioral goals related to pleasure, engagement, and reward-seeking. During the intervention period, participants will interact with the chatbot regularly through brief text-based conversations. The chatbot will provide empathic, non-judgmental responses, encourage reflection on current difficulties, and help participants identify small, feasible actions that may increase daily engagement and positive experiences. It will not provide diagnosis, crisis counseling, or medical treatment.
Active Control Chatbot Interaction: Participants will interact with a chatbot matched in format and frequency of use. This chatbot will provide neutral nature-related stories or general natural history content. It will be designed to maintain participant engagement while avoiding therapeutic techniques, motivational interviewing strategies, behavioral activation guidance, or personalized mental health advice. This active control condition will help control for nonspecific effects of chatbot interaction, attention, expectancy, and digital engagement.
Study summary
The main aim of the present study is to investigate the effects of a Motivational Interviewing-based artificial intelligence chatbot on resting-state brain function in college students with elevated anhedonia and depressive symptoms. The study will use a randomized active-control intervention design with pre- and post-intervention resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging assessments.
Eligibility
Primary outcome measure(s)
- Intervention-Related Changes in Resting-State Functional Connectivity After the Intervention — Baseline before the first chatbot interaction and Week 1 after completion of the chatbot intervention.
Resting-state fMRI will be used to examine functional connectivity among predefined regions involved in reward, social, and self-referential processing. Connectivity will be estimated from Pearson correlations between regional BOLD time series and then converted using the Fisher z transformation. Changes from baseline to post-intervention will be reported as dimensionless Fisher z values.
Trial sites (1)
| Facility | City | Region | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| University of Electronic Science and Technology of China | Chengdu | Sichuan | Recruiting |
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Other trials for the same condition
This page summarises publicly available registry data for informational purposes — not medical advice. Eligibility is determined by each study team; patients should discuss participation with their clinician.
View NCT07665216 on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗ ← All trials in China