Studies how reward learning relates to low enjoyment of social contact in early psychosis
Compares a talking method with a control session in adults with first-episode psychosis.
Plain-language title generated from the registry record
Registry title: Determining the Role of Social Reward Learning in Social Anhedonia
Key facts
- Where
- Birmingham and Los Angeles, United StatesSee the 2 sites
Could this be for you?
Answer for yourself. This is not a decision: only the study team can say whether you can take part.
- Are you between 18 and 35 years old?
Source: NCT05617898, who can take part
Where in United States
- University of Alabama at BirminghamBirmingham, United StatesTaking people
- University of California, Los AngelesLos Angeles, United StatesTaking people
Questions to ask the study team
- How often do I need to come in, and for how long each time?
- Are travel costs paid?
- Can I keep my own doctor?
- What happens if I want to stop?
Trial details
- Who runs it
- University of Alabama at Birmingham
- Trial code
- NCT05617898
- Record updated
- 27 July 2026
- Original description
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.Read full original descriptionShow less
Determining the Role of Social Reward Learning in Social Anhedonia in First-Episode Psychosis Using Motivational Interviewing in a Perturbation-Based Neuroimaging Approach
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.
Inclusion: 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: No medication change 3 weeks prior to enrollment; 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; No evidence that substance use makes the diagnosis ambiguous (rule out substance-induced psychosis); For females: no current pregnancy; No sedatives or anxiolytics on the day of assessment.