The Neurocircuitry of Relief During Avoidance Learning in Patients With Obsessive-compulsive Disorder

NCT04685018 | Unknown

• 1 other identifier: bram vervliet
• Study Type: observational
• Target: 40
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

To investigate the neuro-mechanisms underpinning persistent avoidance in OCD patients

Conditions

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Keywords

Avoidance behavior; Reward; Conditioning; Extinction; Anxiety Disorders; OCD; fMRI

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• Avoidance responses during the avoidance-relief task

  Avoidance responses during avoidance learning and test will be recorded in terms of button press and Reaction times

  1 hour for avoidance task

• Relief during the omissions of the US

  Relief will be measured as: Brain data during fMRI: whole-brain activations, as well as activations in specific regions of interest (ROI: VTA, NAcc, OFC) at the moment of the omissions of the electrical stimulation (US) during both the avoidance learning and the extinction learning phase of the avoidance-relief task; Individual ratings: relief pleasantness ratings measured on a Likert scale from 0 (neutral) to 3 (very pleasant) after each omission of the electrical stimulation (US) during both the avoidance learning and the extinction learning phase of the avoidance-relief task; Physiological data: skin conductance responses (SCR) at the moment of the omissions of the electrical stimulation (US) during both the avoidance learning and the extinction learning phase of the avoidance-relief task.

  1 hour to perform the avoidance task

Secondary Outcomes (3)

• Tolerance to stress

  1 hour to perform the avoidance task

• Therapeutic outcome in OCD

  1 hour to perform the avoidance task

• Resting-state connectivity

  1 hour to perform the avoidance task

Study Arms (2)

HC

Mentally and medically healthy adults between 18 and 60 years, free from any current or previous medical or psychiatric condition.

Device: fMRI acquisition

OCD

Adults between 18 and 60 years, with a diagnosis of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and medication-free or with stable medication regimen for at least 3 weeks prior to the study.

Device: fMRI acquisition

Interventions

fMRI acquisition DEVICE

Participants from the two groups will perform an avoidance-relief task inside an MRI scanner

Also known as: Behavioral task

HC; OCD

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 60 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)
• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Healthy group: Mentally and medically healthy adults between 18 and 60 years, free from any current or previous medical or psychiatric condition. OCD group: Same as the healthy group, except for the diagnosis of OCD and medication-free or with a stable medication regimen for at least 3 weeks prior to the study.

You may qualify if:

• Healthy volunteers 18-60 years old;
• Participants are motivated and give written informed consent;
• Adequate demand of Dutch language;
• Subjects have never participated in a fear conditioning task;
• Diagnosis of OCD (for OCD group only);
• Contraindications for the MRI exam.

You may not qualify if:

• Current neurological (e.g. Epilepsia), respiratory, cardiovascular, metabolic, gastrointestinal, endocrine (especially diabetes), renal or urinary diseases, psychiatric disorder or other relevant medical histories (except for OCD in the OCD group);
• Being pregnant or lactating;
• Alcohol intake greater than 14 alcoholic units per week (one alcoholic unit = 10 gr ethanol);
• History of cannabis use or any other drug of abuse during the 3 months prior to the study;
• The medical doctor has asked to the participant to stay away from stressful situations;
• Electronic implants (e.g., pacemaker);
• Pain or other condition of the hand or the wrist.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• KU Leuven: lead

Study Sites (1)

Psychiatry | UZ Leuven campus Gasthuisberg

Leuven, 3000, Belgium

RECRUITING

Related Publications (4)

• Vervliet B, Lange I, Milad MR. Temporal dynamics of relief in avoidance conditioning and fear extinction: Experimental validation and clinical relevance. Behav Res Ther. 2017 Sep;96:66-78. doi: 10.1016/j.brat.2017.04.011. Epub 2017 Apr 23.

  PMID: 28457484 RESULT

• Milad MR, Furtak SC, Greenberg JL, Keshaviah A, Im JJ, Falkenstein MJ, Jenike M, Rauch SL, Wilhelm S. Deficits in conditioned fear extinction in obsessive-compulsive disorder and neurobiological changes in the fear circuit. JAMA Psychiatry. 2013 Jun;70(6):608-18; quiz 554. doi: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2013.914.

  PMID: 23740049 RESULT

• Leknes S, Lee M, Berna C, Andersson J, Tracey I. Relief as a reward: hedonic and neural responses to safety from pain. PLoS One. 2011 Apr 7;6(4):e17870. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0017870.

  PMID: 21490964 RESULT

• Gillan CM, Morein-Zamir S, Urcelay GP, Sule A, Voon V, Apergis-Schoute AM, Fineberg NA, Sahakian BJ, Robbins TW. Enhanced avoidance habits in obsessive-compulsive disorder. Biol Psychiatry. 2014 Apr 15;75(8):631-8. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2013.02.002. Epub 2013 Mar 16.

  PMID: 23510580 RESULT

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder; Anxiety Disorders

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Mental Disorders

Central Study Contacts

Bram Vervliet, Prof. Dr.

CONTACT

+32 16 3 26 145; bram.vervliet@kuleuven.be

Chris Bervoets, Prof. Dr.

CONTACT

+32 16 34 08 77; chris.bervoets@kuleuven.be

Study Design

• Study Type: observational
• Observational Model: CASE CONTROL
• Time Perspective: PROSPECTIVE
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Principal Investigator Prof. Dr. Bram Vervliet

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: December 14, 2020
• First Posted: December 28, 2020
• Study Start: January 10, 2020
• Primary Completion: January 10, 2022
• Study Completion: May 1, 2022
• Last Updated: December 28, 2020

Record last verified: 2020-12

Locations

BE (1)