Determining the Role of Social Reward Learning in Social Anhedonia

NCT ID: NCT05617898

Last Updated: 2025-07-24

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: RECRUITING
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 152 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2023-06-14
• Study Completion Date: 2027-11-30

Brief Summary

This is a clinical trial study that aims to evaluate the specificity of the relationship between reduced sensitivity to social reward and social anhedonia at both behavioral and neural levels. Individuals who recently experienced their first-episode psychosis will be recruited. Participants will be randomized 1:1 to motivational interviewing or a time- and format-matched control probe. At pre- and post-probe, participants will perform two social reward learning tasks in the scanner. With this design feature, we will examine the relationship between sensitivity to social reward and reduced subjective experience of social pleasure at both the behavioral and neural levels.

Conditions

Psychosis

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: BASIC_SCIENCE
• Blinding Strategy: SINGLE

Study Groups

Motivational Interview Intervention

This arm involves three 45-minute sessions on motivational interviewing targeting sensitivity to social reward.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Motivational Interviewing

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Three motivational interviewing sessions will target sensitivity to social reward, including subjective evaluation of social interaction, socially rewarding stimuli, and events (e.g., interactions with others, feedback from others).

Active Control Intervention

This arm involves three 45-minute sessions on didactic training on nutrition.

Group Type: ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Nutrition Didactic Training

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

The Nutrition didactic training will ask participants to discuss pros and cons of healthy eating habits and how to improve their current eating habits.

Interventions

Motivational Interviewing

Three motivational interviewing sessions will target sensitivity to social reward, including subjective evaluation of social interaction, socially rewarding stimuli, and events (e.g., interactions with others, feedback from others).

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Nutrition Didactic Training

The Nutrition didactic training will ask participants to discuss pros and cons of healthy eating habits and how to improve their current eating habits.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Age 18-35 years
• A first episode of a psychotic illness that began within the past three years
• Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)-5 diagnosis of schizophrenia, schizophreniform, or schizoaffective disorder
• Taking 2nd generation antipsychotic medications
• Estimated premorbid IQ not less than 70 as assessed with the Wechsler Test of Adult Reading
• Appropriate for scanning (i.e., no pacemaker or metal implants) and expressed willingness to participate in scanning
• Sufficient fluency in English to comprehend testing procedures
• Corrected vision of at least 20/30

Exclusion Criteria

• No evidence that substance use makes the diagnosis ambiguous (rule out substance-induced psychosis)
• No evidence of moderate or severe alcohol or substance use disorder in the past 3 months
• No clinically significant disease based on medical history (e.g., epilepsy) or significant head injury
• For females: no current pregnancy
• No sedatives or anxiolytics on the day of assessment
• No medication change 3 weeks prior to enrollment

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 35 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

University of California, Los Angeles

OTHER

Sponsor Role: collaborator

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

NIH

Sponsor Role: collaborator

University of Alabama at Birmingham

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Junghee Lee

Associate Professor

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Locations

University of Alabama at Birmingham

Birmingham, Alabama, United States

Site Status: RECRUITING

University of California Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California, United States

Site Status: RECRUITING

Countries

United States

Central Contacts

Junghee Lee, PhD

Role: CONTACT

jungheelee@uabmc.edu

205-934-8205

Andrew Meddaugh, BA

Role: CONTACT

ajmeddaugh@uabmc.edu

205-934-8203

Facility Contacts

Andrew Meddaugh, BA

Role: primary

ajmeddaugh@uabmc.edu

205-934-8203

Junghee Lee, PhD

Role: backup

jungheelee@uabmc.edu

205-934-8205

Rebecca Zornitsky, MS

Role: primary

zornitsky@mednet.ucla.edu

424-225-1779

Joseph Ventura, PhD

Role: backup

jventura@mednet.ucla.edu

310-206-3142

Other Identifiers

1R01MH129351-01A1

Identifier Type: NIH

Identifier Source: secondary_id

View Link

IRB-300009711

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id