MSGID: 1:317/3 6465a9e4   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
    AI voice coach shows promise in depression, anxiety treatment    
      
     Date:   
         May 17, 2023   
     Source:   
         University of Illinois Chicago   
     Summary:   
         A study found changes in patients' brain activity along with   
         improved depression and anxiety symptoms after using Lumen.   
      
      
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   FULL STORY   
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   Artificial intelligence could be a useful tool in mental health treatment,   
   according to the results of a new pilot study led by University of   
   Illinois Chicago researchers.   
      
   The study, which was the first to test an AI voice-based virtual coach   
   for behavioral therapy, found changes in patients' brain activity along   
   with improved depression and anxiety symptoms after using Lumen, an AI   
   voice assistant that delivered a form of psychotherapy.   
      
   The UIC team says the results, which are published in the journal   
   Translational Psychiatry, offer encouraging evidence that virtual therapy   
   can play a role in filling the gaps in mental health care, where waitlists   
   and disparities in access are often hurdles that patients, particularly   
   from vulnerable communities, must overcome to receive treatment.   
      
   "We've had an incredible explosion of need, especially in the wake   
   of COVID, with soaring rates of anxiety and depression and not enough   
   practitioners," said Dr. Olusola A. Ajilore, UIC professor of psychiatry   
   and co-first author of the paper. "This kind of technology may serve as   
   a bridge. It's not meant to be a replacement for traditional therapy,   
   but it may be an important stop-gap before somebody can seek treatment."   
   Lumen, which operates as a skill in the Amazon Alexa application, was   
   developed by Ajilore and study senior author Dr.Jun Ma, the Beth and   
   George Vitoux Professor of Medicine at UIC, along with collaborators at   
   Washington University in St. Louis and Pennsylvania State University,   
   with the support of a $2 million grant from the National Institute of   
   Mental Health.   
      
   The UIC researchers recruited over 60 patients for the clinical study   
   exploring the application's effect on mild-to-moderate depression and   
   anxiety symptoms, and activity in brain areas previously shown to be   
   associated with the benefits of problem-solving therapy.   
      
   Two-thirds of the patients used Lumen on a study-provided iPad for eight   
   problem-solving therapy sessions, with the rest serving as a "waitlist"   
   control receiving no intervention.   
      
   After the intervention, study participants using the Lumen app showed   
   decreased scores for depression, anxiety and psychological distress   
   compared with the control group. The Lumen group also showed improvements   
   in problem-solving skills that correlated with increased activity in the   
   dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, a brain area associated with cognitive   
   control. Promising results for women and underrepresented populations   
   also were found.   
      
   "It's about changing the way people think about problems and how to   
   address them, and not being emotionally overwhelmed," Ma said. "It's a   
   pragmatic and patient-driven behavior therapy that's well established,   
   which makes it a good fit for delivery using voice-based technology."   
   A larger trial comparing the use of Lumen with both a control group on a   
   waitlist, and patients receiving human-coached problem-solving therapy   
   is currently being conducted by the researcher. They stress that the   
   virtual coach doesn't need to perform better than a human therapist to   
   fill a desperate need in the mental health system.   
      
   "The way we should think about digital mental health service is not for   
   these apps to replace humans, but rather to recognize what a gap we have   
   between supply and demand, and then find novel, effective and safe ways   
   to deliver treatments to individuals who otherwise do not have access,   
   to fill that gap," Ma said.   
      
   Co-first author of the study is Thomas Kannampallil at Washington   
   University in St. Louis.   
      
   Other co-investigators include Aifeng Zhang, Nan Lv, Nancy E. Wittels,   
   Corina R. Ronneberg, Vikas Kumar, Susanth Dosala, Amruta Barve, Kevin   
   C. Tan, Kevin K.   
      
   Cao, Charmi R. Patel and Emily A. Kringle, all of UIC; Joshua Smyth and   
   Jillian A. Johnson at Pennsylvania State University; and Lan Xiao at   
   Stanford University.   
      
       * RELATED_TOPICS   
             o Health_&_Medicine   
                   # Mental_Health_Research # Diseases_and_Conditions #   
                   Psychology_Research   
             o Mind_&_Brain   
                   # Mental_Health # Behavior # Depression   
             o Computers_&_Math   
                   # Neural_Interfaces # Virtual_Reality #   
                   Educational_Technology   
       * RELATED_TERMS   
             o Postpartum_depression o Deep_brain_stimulation o   
             Methamphetamine o Psychopathology o Bruxism o Multiple_sclerosis   
             o West_Nile_virus o Amygdala   
      
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   Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Illinois_Chicago. Note:   
   Content may be edited for style and length.   
      
      
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   Journal Reference:   
      1. Thomas Kannampallil, Olusola A. Ajilore, Nan Lv, Joshua M. Smyth,   
      Nancy   
         E. Wittels, Corina R. Ronneberg, Vikas Kumar, Lan Xiao, Susanth   
         Dosala, Amruta Barve, Aifeng Zhang, Kevin C. Tan, Kevin K. Cao,   
         Charmi R. Patel, Ben S. Gerber, Jillian A. Johnson, Emily   
         A. Kringle, Jun Ma. Effects of a virtual voice-based coach   
         delivering problem-solving treatment on emotional distress and   
         brain function: a pilot RCT in depression and anxiety. Translational   
         Psychiatry, 2023; 13 (1) DOI: 10.1038/s41398-023- 02462-x   
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   Link to news story:   
   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/05/230517122117.htm   
      
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