The ENGAGE study: Integrating neuroimaging, virtual reality and smartphone sensing to understand self-regulation for managing depression and obesity in a precision medicine model
Open accessAbstract
Precision medicine models for personalizing achieving sustained behavior change are largely outside of current clinical practice. Yet, changing self-regulatory behaviors is fundamental to the self-management of complex lifestyle-related chronic conditions such as depression and obesity - two top contributors to the global burden of disease and disability. To optimize treatments and address these burdens, behavior change and self-regulation must be better understood in relation to their neurobiological underpinnings. Here, we present the conceptual framework and protocol for a novel study, "Engaging self-regulation targets to understand the mechanisms of behavior change and improve mood and weight outcomes (ENGAGE)". The ENGAGE study integrates neuroscience with behavioral science to better understand the self-regulation related mechanisms of behavior change for improving mood and weight outcomes among adults with comorbid depression and obesity. We collect assays of three self-regulation targets (emotion, cognition, and self-reflection) in multiple settings: neuroimaging and behavioral lab-based measures, virtual reality, and passive smartphone sampling. By connecting human neuroscience and behavioral science in this manner within the ENGAGE study, we develop a prototype for elucidating the underlying self-regulation mechanisms of behavior change outcomes and their application in optimizing intervention strategies for multiple chronic diseases.
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The RAINBOW/ENGAGE studies reported on an intervention designed for the management of both weight and depression, but the mobile app was exclusively for recording physical activity and did not include recording of any mental dimension.
“The RAINBOW/ENGAGE studies [44, 45] reported on an intervention designed for the management of both weight and depression. Yet, the use of a mobile app was exclusively for recording physical activity and did not include the recording of any mental dimension.”
From Mobile Apps for the Management of Comorbid Overweight/Obesity and Depression/Anxiety: A Systematic Review (2020) · cites this paper as [44]
The Introduction and Methods > Participants describe an intervention for both depression and obesity. But Methods > Assay settings & targets says the ENGAGE smartphone app collects variables related to emotional states and cognitive regulation. That directly contradicts the claim that app use was exclusively for physical activity and recorded no mental dimension; the cited passages provide no page numbers. (LLM, conf=0.90)
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Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredOf the four randomized controlled trials, only the study by Ma et al. was blind.
“Although the other four studies [44, 45, 49, 50] were randomized controlled trials, only the study by Ma and colleagues [45] was blind.”
From Mobile Apps for the Management of Comorbid Overweight/Obesity and Depression/Anxiety: A Systematic Review (2020) · cites this paper as [44]
The Introduction identifies RAINBOW, to which ENGAGE is linked, as a randomized controlled trial, and Methods > Participants describes random assignment. Neither passage says the study was blind, and this paper does not compare blinding across the four studies. The claim that only Ma and colleagues’ study was blind is therefore unsupported by our copy. (LLM, conf=0.82)
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References 94 · Cited by 40
Research works printed but not linked: 2
- Fox J, Bailenson JN, & Ricciardi T (2012). Physiological responses to virtual selves and virtual others. Journal of CyberTherapy & Rehabilitation, 5(1), 69– 72.
- Kerchner GA, Dougherty RF, & Dagum P (2015). Unobtrusive neuropsychological monitoring from smart phone use behavior. Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association, 11(7), P272– P273.
- Authors
- Williams, L. M., Pines, A., Goldstein-Piekarski, A. N., Rosas, L. G., Kullar, M., Sacchet, M. D., Gevaert, O., Bailenson, J., Lavori, P. W., Dagum, P., Wandell, B., Correa, C., Greenleaf, W., Suppes, T., Perry, L. M., Smyth, J. M., Lewis, M. A., Venditti, E. M., Snowden, M., Simmons, J. M., & Ma, J.
- Affiliations
- VA Palo Alto Health Care System (US)
- Stanford University (US)
- Palo Alto Medical Foundation (US)
- Stanford Medicine (US)
- Pennsylvania State University (US)
- RTI International (US)
- University of Washington (US)
- National Institute of Mental Health (US)
- Corresponding author
- Williams, Leanne M.
- ORCID
- Venue
- Behaviour Research and Therapy
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2018-02
- Volume
- 101
- Pages
- 58-70
- ISSN
- 0005-7967 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC8109191
- OpenAlex
- W2761871091
- Cited by
- 40
- References
- 94
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 8 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 3
- FWCI
- 4.38
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Behaviour Research and Therapy (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institutes of Health (UH2HL132368)
- National Institutes of Health (NIH)
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (UH2HL132368)
- NIH (1UH2AG052163-01)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Behavioral Health and Interventions
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Keywords
- self-regulation, behavior change, depression, obesity, precision medicine, neuroimaging, virtual reality, smartphone sensing, emotion regulation, cognitive regulation, self-reflection, mood, weight outcomes, chronic disease self-management
- MeSH terms
- Self-Control, Smartphone, Virtual Reality, Body Weight, Clinical Protocols, Depression, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Obesity, Comorbidity, Behavior Control, Precision Medicine, Neuroimaging
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