Social anxiety disorder is a psychiatric disorder that interferes with daily life due to a significant daily fear or anxiety about social situations, such as high-profile presentations or participation in group activities.In 2016, the research group clarified the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral therapy for patients with social anxiety that did not improve with antidepressants, and published a manual for therapists on cognitive-behavioral therapy for social anxiety.However, due to the lack of medical staff who can provide cognitive behavioral therapy and the side effects of drug therapy, there was a need for a new and safer treatment.

　The research team focused on the problem of social anxiety patients avoiding eye contact in interpersonal situations.Developed a gaze training device that combines gaze training software "Eye Communication Trainer (ECOM)" and a glasses-type gaze measurement device. ) started clinical research in 23.

　As a result, social anxiety symptoms were statistically significantly reduced compared to pre-training.Although the test conditions were different, the effect size was at the same level as previously reported effect sizes for cognitive-behavioral therapy and pharmacotherapy.In addition, no adverse events other than mild dry eye were reported, and the procedure was performed safely.

　It is expected that eye gaze training using ECOM can be a new treatment for social anxiety disorder, and that eye gaze training using ECOM will be established as a new treatment for social anxiety disorder by conducting large-scale randomized controlled trials. It is said that it will be.

Paper information:[Journal of Affective Disorders Reports] Effectiveness of eye communication training device for social anxiety disorder treatment: A single-arm pilot trial