Determining the Role of Social Reward Learning in Social Anhedonia

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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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.

Official Title
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Determining the Role of Social Reward Learning in Social Anhedonia in First-Episode Psychosis Using Motivational Interviewing in a Perturbation-Based Neuroimaging Approach

Conditions
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Psychosis

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: Motivational Interviewing
* Behavioral: Nutrition Didactic Training


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Age 18-35 years A first episode of a psychotic illness that began within the past two 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

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 18 Years
Maximum Age: 35 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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No

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Basic Science
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Single


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: Motivational Interview Intervention<br>This arm involves three 45-minute sessions on motivational interviewing targeting sensitivity to social reward. | Behavioral: Motivational Interviewing<br>* 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).<br>|
| Active Comparator: Active Control Intervention<br>This arm involves three 45-minute sessions on didactic training on nutrition. | Behavioral: Nutrition Didactic Training<br>* The Nutrition didactic training will ask participants to discuss pros and cons of healthy eating habits and how to improve their current eating habits.<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Response Bias | Response bias is defined as the likelihood of making one response, such as the frequently rewarded stimulus, more than the other response during the perceptual social reward learning task | 3 weeks | 
| the number of optimal response | The number of optimal response is defined as the number of responses choosing a stimuli with optimal outcomes (e.g., choosing a good over a neutral machine or choosing a neutral over a bad machine) during the inductive social reward learning task. | 3 weeks | 
| fMRI activation levels | fMRI activation is defined as beta weights from general linear model from key regions of interests including the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and ventral striatum during the perceptual social reward learning task and the inductive social reward learning task. | 3 weeks | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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social anhedonia, social reward learning, fMRI, sensitivity to reward