Dopamine Function and Reward Processing In Schizophrenia

NCT01035996 | Completed

• 2 other identifiers: 99990540105-DA-N401
• Study Type: observational
• Target: 159
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 2

Brief Summary

Background: \- Schizophrenia is associated with cognitive impairment in different parts of the brain, including those associated with learning and memory. The brain activity associated with these impairments, however, is poorly understood. Researchers are interested in studying how the brain chemical dopamine, which is involved in responding to incentives and rewards like money or food, works differently in the brains of people who have schizophrenia. Objectives: \- To study reward processing in individuals with schizophrenia who are taking different types of medication, compared with healthy volunteers. Eligibility: \- Individuals between 18 and 55 years of age who (a) have been diagnosed with schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder and are taking the antipsychotic medication clozapine, (b), have been diagnosed with schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder and are taking a different second-generation antipsychotic, or (c) are healthy volunteers. Design:

• This study will involve one screening visit and one or more visits for testing and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans. During the screening visit, participants will complete questionnaires and provide information about their physical and psychological health.
• Participants will receive training in the tasks to be performed at the scanning sessions during the screening visit.
• During the fMRI scans, participants will complete one or two of four possible reward-based tasks:
• A task that enables participants to win money based on their response to a target item.
• A task that provides small amounts of juice over specific time intervals, followed by a procedure to be completed outside the scanner.
• A task that involves choosing figures or shapes and winning money based on responses.
• A game of chance involving predictions based on shapes shown on a screen.
• Participants will also provide blood samples for research and testing.

Conditions

Schizophrenia

Keywords

Classical Conditioning; fMRI; Schizophrenia; TD Model; Incentive Salience

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Whether MRI responses in components of reward circuits are attenuated in patients, in the context of paradigms that require individuals to detect mismatches between expected & experienced outcomes, and to modify responses based on those...

  one MRI

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 50 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• Individuals will be eligible for participation in one of the proposed experimental groups on the condition that they are:
• Aged between 18 55 years.
• In good health, based on history and physical examination
• Right-handed (i.e. as assessed using the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory)
• In addition, patient participants:
• Must meet DSM-IV criteria for schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder at the time of assessment, and
• Must have had 4 weeks of stable pharmacological treatment (same medications at same doses).
• Behavioral Subject Only:
• Aged between 18 55 years.
• In good health, based on history and physical examination
• Right-handed (i.e. as assessed using the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory)
• In addition, patient participants:
• Must meet DSM-IV criteria for schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder at the time of assessment, and
• Must have had 4 weeks of stable pharmacological treatment (same medications at same doses).
• Individuals will be eligible for participation in one of the proposed experimental groups on the condition that they are:

You may not qualify if:

• Have any current, or previous, diagnosis of any major psychiatric disorder, i.e. to include (but not limited to) mood, anxiety, and psychiatric disorders, or any substance-induced psychiatric disorders.
• Have any first-degree relatives with history of psychosis likely related to schizophrenia, bipolar affective disorder, or schizoaffective disorder.
• Have previously been diagnosed with a DSM-IV Axis II spectrum disorder.
• Patient Participants
• Patient patients will be excluded if they meet any of the criteria already outlined, and also if they:
• Have experienced any changes in pharmacological treatment and dose in the 4 weeks preceding study enrollment.
• We will exclude patients whose paranoid ideation might prevent them from feeling comfortable in the task- or scanning-environment.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA): lead

Study Sites (2)

University of Maryland, Baltimore

Baltimore, Maryland, 21201-1595, United States

Location

National Institute on Drug Abuse, Biomedical Research Center (BRC)

Baltimore, Maryland, 21224, United States

Location

Related Publications (3)

• Addington D, Addington J, Schissel B. A depression rating scale for schizophrenics. Schizophr Res. 1990 Jul-Aug;3(4):247-51. doi: 10.1016/0920-9964(90)90005-r.

  PMID: 2278986 BACKGROUND

• Akil M, Kolachana BS, Rothmond DA, Hyde TM, Weinberger DR, Kleinman JE. Catechol-O-methyltransferase genotype and dopamine regulation in the human brain. J Neurosci. 2003 Mar 15;23(6):2008-13. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.23-06-02008.2003.

  PMID: 12657658 BACKGROUND

• Alain C, McNeely HE, He Y, Christensen BK, West R. Neurophysiological evidence of error-monitoring deficits in patients with schizophrenia. Cereb Cortex. 2002 Aug;12(8):840-6. doi: 10.1093/cercor/12.8.840.

  PMID: 12122032 BACKGROUND

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Schizophrenia

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Schizophrenia Spectrum and Other Psychotic Disorders; Mental Disorders

Study Officials

• Elliot Stein, Ph.D.

  National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: observational
• Sponsor Type: NIH
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: December 18, 2009
• First Posted: December 21, 2009
• Study Start: March 8, 2005
• Study Completion: February 13, 2017
• Last Updated: December 9, 2019

Record last verified: 2017-02-13

Locations

US (2)