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This study aimed to investigate the effects of a single session of Butterfly Tapping (BT), a self-administered form of alternating bilateral stimulation, on emotional reactivity and its neurophysiological correlates. 46 participants will be randomly assigned to an experimental (Exp) or control (Con) group. The Exp group performed a 15-minute session of BT. Emotional reactivity was assessed before and after the stimulation using a detection task with emotional visual stimuli, presented during electroencephalographic (EEG) recording. EEG analyses were conducted using the event-related potential (ERP) method, specifically focusing on the differential amplitude (negative minus neutral) of the Late Positive Potential (LPP), a centro-parietal component associated with sustained processing of emotionally salient stimuli. Results revealed a significant LPP reduction in the Exp group at T1 compared to T0, whereas no change emerged in the Con group. The topographical distribution of the modulation was predominantly central, consistent with models implicating the LPP in higher-order integrative and evaluative processes. These findings provide preliminary neurophysiological evidence that BT may reduce cortical reactivity to negative emotional stimuli in young clinical populations, supporting its potential as a simple and accessible strategy capable of modulating affective responsiveness.
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| Label | Type | Description | Intervention Names |
|---|---|---|---|
| Butterfly Tapping | Experimental | Participants assigned to the Experimental Group (Exp) will perform a self-administered session of Butterfly Tapping (BT), a form of alternating bilateral tactile stimulation widely used in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)-derived affect-regulation techniques. This arm was designed to test whether rhythmic bilateral sensory input modulates neural indices of emotional reactivity. |
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| No tapping (Control Group) | Sham Comparator | Participants assigned to the Control Group will maintain the same posture as the experimental group but will not perform any tapping. This static condition controls for posture, context, expectancy, and emotional activation, isolating the specific effect of the bilateral stimulation. |
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| Name | Type | Description | Arm Group Labels | Other Names |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Butterfly Tapping (BT) | Behavioral | Participants adopted the traditional butterfly hug posture: arms crossed over the chest, fingertips placed below the clavicles. They delivered alternating left-right rhythmic taps (~1 Hz) on their shoulders. Eyes remained closed, and participants were instructed to keep the emotional content active by mentally recalling previously viewed negative images, ensuring sustained affective engagement. Duration: 15 minutes, structured in four blocks of 3 minutes with short pauses. No auditory pacing was provided to preserve spontaneous rhythmicity. Targeted Mechanism Bilateral tactile stimulation aiming to modulate cortico-limbic processing, interhemispheric communication, and sustained emotional reactivity, as indexed by LPP amplitude during ta emotional simple response task |
| Measure | Description | Time Frame |
|---|---|---|
| LPP | Late Positive Potential (LPP) Differential Amplitude (Negative - Neutral) The primary neurophysiological outcome will be the modulation of the centro-parietal Late Positive Potential (LPP), extracted from EEG recordings during the Emotional Simple Response Task (E-SRT). The LPP is a well-established marker of sustained attentional and evaluative processing of emotional stimuli. For each participant and time point (T0, T1, T2), ERP waveforms willbe computed separately for negative and neutral images, and difference waves (negative minus neutral) were used to isolate emotion-specific neural reactivity. Primary analyses focused on mean amplitudes in the experimentally defined cLPP time window (456-552 ms) over the centro-parietal electrode cluster (Cz, C1, C2, CP1, CPz, CP2). The primary contrast of interest was the Group × Time interaction, assessing whether a single session of Butterfly Tapping selectively reduced the LPP differential amplitude relative to the static control condition. | Baseline, End of Treatment (8-12 weeks), and Follow-up (8 weeks after treatment completion) |
| Measure | Description | Time Frame |
|---|---|---|
| Frontal positivity | Frontal Positivity (188-228 ms). Is sn exploratory secondary marker, indexing early evaluative or response-related processing, quantified over the frontal region (F1, Fz, F2, FC1, FCz, FC2). | Baseline, End of Treatment (8-12 weeks), and Follow-up (8 weeks after treatment completion) |
| Behavior |
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Exclusion Criteria:
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| Facility | Status | City | State | ZIP | Country | Contacts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Rome Foro Italico | Rome | RM | 00135 | Italy |
| PubMed Identifier | Type | Citation | Retractions |
|---|---|---|---|
| 23995026 | Background | First MB. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, 5th edition, and clinical utility. J Nerv Ment Dis. 2013 Sep;201(9):727-9. doi: 10.1097/NMD.0b013e3182a2168a. No abstract available. |
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| Type | Date | Date Unknown |
|---|---|---|
| Release | Jun 1, 2026 | |
| Reset | Jun 25, 2026 |
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| Type | Includes Protocol | Includes SAP | Includes ICF | Document Label | Document Date | Document Uploaded Date | Document File Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prot_SAP | Yes | Yes | No | Study Protocol and Statistical Analysis Plan | Nov 26, 2023 | Apr 10, 2026 | Prot_SAP_000.pdf |
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| Release Date | Unrelease Date | Unrelease Date Unknown | Reset Date | MCP Release Number |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 1, 2026 | Jun 25, 2026 |
| ID | Term |
|---|---|
| D003130 | Combat Disorders |
| D013313 | Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic |
| D000080103 | Emotional Regulation |
| ID | Term |
|---|---|
| D040921 | Stress Disorders, Traumatic |
| D000068099 | Trauma and Stressor Related Disorders |
| D001523 | Mental Disorders |
| D000068356 | Self-Control |
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| No intervention control | Behavioral | Participants will adopt the same butterfly-hug position, with arms crossed and hands placed on the chest. No rhythmic tapping or movements will be performed. Eyes are closed for the entire session, as in the experimental arm. Participants will held the emotional images in mind just as in the experimental arm. Duration: 15 minutes, identical block structure and timing as the BT condition. Targeted Mechanism Serves as a posture-matched and expectancy-matched control, ruling out effects of: simple stillness, emotional recall, attentional focus, physical posture, general relaxation effects. |
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Behavioral Performance: Response Time (RT) to emotional images Omission Rate (OM) Both extracted from the E-SRT before and after stimulation. |
| Baseline, End of Treatment (8-12 weeks), and Follow-up (8 weeks after treatment completion) |
| Self-report | Self-Reported Emotional State: State Anxiety (STAI-Y1) Emotional Discomfort (VAS) Collected immediately after each task block to assess subjective affective changes. | Baseline, End of Treatment (8-12 weeks), and Follow-up (8 weeks after treatment completion) |
| D012919 | Social Behavior |
| D001519 | Behavior |