Development and Validation of Learning and Decision-Making Tasks

NCT ID: NCT05707806

Last Updated: 2026-01-07

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: RECRUITING
• Total Enrollment: 550 participants
• Study Classification: OBSERVATIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2023-03-29
• Study Completion Date: 2032-12-31

Brief Summary

Background:

Substance use disorders (SUD) can be considered disorders in the way people process incentives, learn, and make decisions. To understand why some people develop SUD, researchers need to develop reliable tests that show how people think and learn. This natural history study seeks to develop a set of tasks that could then be used to test how people learn and make decisions.

Objective:

To develop and validate behavioral tasks that could be used in future studies.

Eligibility:

Healthy people aged 18-45 years from the Baltimore area. They must also be enrolled in the NIDA screening protocol.

Design:

Participants will perform different tasks. Most tasks require 1-4 study visits; some may require up to 12. Visits are 1-14 days apart. All visits will last about 1-7 hours.

Participants will perform tasks on a computer. As they work they may be given different stimuli:

Smells. Participants will sniff odors through a plastic tube or mask on their nose.

Flavors. Participants will wear a mouthpiece and small amounts of different flavored liquids will be placed in their mouth.

Pictures. Participants will look at different images.

Sounds. Participants will wear headphones and various sounds will be played for them.

Food. Participants may be asked to eat a meal before, during, or after a task. The researchers will provide the meal.

During each task, participants will wear sensors to monitor their heart rate, blood pressure, breathing, and other physical changes in their bodies.

Some participants will have a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scan. They will lie on a table that slides into a cylinder. They will perform tasks on a computer screen during the fMRI.

Detailed Description

Study Description:

From a behavioral perspective, substance-use disorders (SUD) can be considered as disorders of incentive processing, learning, and decision-making. The Learning and Decision-Making Unit at NIDA IRP conducts Basic Experimental Studies involving Humans (BESH) to study the neurocomputational mechanisms underlying these functions, and their disruption in SUD. For this, behavioral tasks suitable for use both in and outside the functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanner need to be developed and validated.

Objectives:

The primary objective of this protocol is to develop and validate behavioral tasks inside and outside the fMRI scanner, and to determine their practical feasibility for future studies.

Endpoints:

The primary endpoint is to determine if the developed tasks reliably and appropriately measure specific cognitive functions, and if they yield measurable and interpretable fMRI results in the associated brain systems.

Conditions

Normal Physiology

Study Design

• Observational Model Type: CASE_CONTROL
• Study Time Perspective: CROSS_SECTIONAL

Study Groups

healthy controls

generally healthy volunteers

MRI

Intervention Type: DEVICE

Enables the use of custom pulse sequence

Interventions

MRI

Enables the use of custom pulse sequence

Intervention Type: DEVICE

Eligibility Criteria

Exclusion Criteria

In order to be eligible to participate in this study, an individual must meet the following criteria:

• Stated willingness to comply with all study procedures and availability for the duration of the study.
• Male or female, aged 18-45 years old. Justification: Many neural processes change with age, and these changes could introduce unwanted variability in both behavioral and MRI signals.
• In good general health.
• Agreement to adhere to Lifestyle Considerations throughout study duration

In order to be eligible to participate in the MRI phase of this study, an individual must - in addition - also meet all of the following criteria:

-Right-handed.

Individuals who meet any of the following criteria will be excluded from participation:

• History of neurological illnesses or neurosurgery including but not limited to cerebrovascular accident, Parkinson disease, Alzheimer disease, Huntington disease, CNS tumor, significant head trauma with sequelae, multiple sclerosis or other demyelinating diseases, epilepsy, movement disorders. The MAI will also retain discretion to exclude based on a history of a neurological illness or trauma that may compromise data integrity.
• History of current (past 12 months) major DSM-5 psychiatric disorder including major affective disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, schizophrenia, or PTSD.
• Pattern of alcohol and drug use in the past 12 months that is indicative of harmful use, loss of control over use, or physical dependence.
• Daily nicotine, alcohol, or drug use (excluding caffeine) for at least 4 continuous weeks in the past 12 months.
• Current use of psychoactive medications and medications that affect alertness and that cannot (in principle) be withheld the night before the study visit. Participants who can withhold these medications will either (1) withhold the medication during this time or (2) not withhold the medication and pass a clinical assessment for intoxication on the day of the study visit. Based on participant preferences and MAI/PI judgement, participants who fail the clinical assessment for intoxication will either be withdrawn or rescheduled and asked to withhold the medication.
• For tasks that involve gustatory or olfactory stimuli, food intake: History of anaphylaxis, e.g., due to severe asthma or food and non-food allergies (e.g., latex, detergents, soap, etc.). This will disqualify participants for tasks that involve chemosensory stimuli or food intake, but not from the study itself.
• Uncorrected impairments in visual acuity.
• Non-English speaking. Justification: To include non-English speakers, we would have to translate the consent and other study documents and hire and train bilingual staff, which would require resources that we do not have and could not justify, given the small sample size for each experiment. Additionally, the data integrity of some of the cognitive tasks used in this study would be compromised as they have only been validated in English. Most importantly, ongoing communication regarding safety procedures is necessary when participants are undergoing MRI procedures. The inability to effectively communicate MRI safety procedures in a language other than English could compromise the safety of non-English speaking participants.
• Pregnancy.
• Any other condition that in the judgment of the investigators is incompatible with participation.

An individual who meets any of the following criteria will be excluded from participation in the MRI phase of this study:

-Unable to undergo MRI scanning due to certain metallic or magnetic devices or implants in the body, or claustrophobia.

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 45 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

NIH

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Responsibility Role: SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

Thorsten Kahnt, Ph.D.

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

Locations

National Institute on Drug Abuse

Baltimore, Maryland, United States

Site Status: RECRUITING

Countries

United States

Central Contacts

NIDA IRP Screening Team

Role: CONTACT

researchstudies@nida.nih.gov

(800) 535-8254

Thorsten Kahnt, Ph.D.

Role: CONTACT

thorsten.kahnt@nih.gov

(667) 312-5175

Facility Contacts

Thorsten Kahnt

Role: primary

thorsten.kahnt@nih.gov

667-312-5175

Other Identifiers

001156-DA

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: secondary_id

10001156

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id