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Effect of Reward on Learning in Motor Cortex

NCT00885131 · Status: COMPLETED · Type: OBSERVATIONAL · Enrollment: 64

Last updated 2019-12-09

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Background:

* Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) uses a strong magnetic field and radio waves to take pictures of the brain. Some MRI studies suggest that this technique reveals brain differences in patients with a nervous system illness when compared to adults without a nervous system illness.

Objectives:

* To study functional changes in the brain that may be observed in people without any nervous system illness.
* To learn more about which areas of the brain are necessary to perform certain tasks, especially learning simple motor sequences and processing rewards.

Eligibility:

* Healthy volunteers between the ages of 18 and 50 who are right-handed and are native English speakers, and who have no medical conditions that would prevent them from undergoing magnetic imaging.
* Volunteers must not have a history of neurological or psychiatric illnesses.
* Female volunteers must not be pregnant.

Design:

* Volunteers will be asked to undergo different types of magnetic imaging, including functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), and/or transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), while participating in either a slot machine simulation or a key sequence learning task.
* Volunteers will participate in one of four possible experiments:
* Experiment 1: MRS/TMS and slot machine (3 visits, 3.5 hours in total).
* Experiment 2: MRS/TMS and key sequence (3 visits, 3.5 hours in total).
* Experiment 3: fMRI and slot machine (2 visits, 3 hours in total).
* Experiment 4: fMRI and key sequence (1 visit, 2 hours in total).
* Experiment types:
* Slot machine: A computer game like a slot machine, where the user presses a button to start the game and watches as the three barrels of the machine spin into place.
* Key sequence: Pressing a series of buttons in response to visual cues.
* Volunteers will also be asked to give a small blood sample for genetic testing.
* Volunteers will be paid a small amount of money (approximately $50 $80) during the experiments in compensation for their participation in the study.

Conditions

  • Healthy

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • United States Department of Defense

    collaborator FED

  • National Institutes of Health Clinical Center (CC)

    collaborator NIH

  • Center for Neuroscience and Regenerative Medicine (CNRM)

    collaborator FED

  • National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)

    lead NIH

Principal Investigators

  • Eric M Wassermann, M.D. · National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Max Age
50 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2009-04-15
Completion
2013-01-22

Countries

  • United States

Study Locations

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Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT00885131 on ClinicalTrials.gov