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OpenTrials
Completed

NCT Number: NCT06014606

Learning and Decision-making

A fundamental aspect of daily life decision-making involves the evaluation of costs and benefits. Neural systems underlying cost-benefit evaluation have been extensively examined, but the specific role of different neurotransmitters remains unclear. Numerous studies suggest that both dopamine (DA) and norepinephrine (NE) are closely related to reinforcement learning, guided exploration/exploitation, and behavioural energisation, although no studies to date have investigated the distinct role of DA and NE on cost-benefit decision-making and learning in human subjects.

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Key information

Conditions

Motivation

Age range

18 year–35 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Maastricht University

Maastricht, Netherlands

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Willingness to sign an informed consent
  • Age between 18 and 35
  • Body-Mass Index (BMI) between 17.5-30
  • Availability for participation through the duration of the study

Exclusion criteria

  • Diagnosis of a psychiatric or neurological disorder, including substance abuse or dependence (yes/no self-report - lifetime)
  • Use of any psychopharmacological treatment 3 weeks before the test day (yes/no self-report)
  • Use of any blood pressure medication (yes/no self-report - lifetime)
  • Pregnancy (confirmed via urine pregnancy test) or nursing (yes/no self-report) or have plans to get pregnant in the near future (yes/no self-report) (females only)
  • Diagnosis of a cardiac disease (medical questionnaire), obstructive respiratory disease (medical questionnaire), abnormal blood pressure (diastolic< 60mmHg; systolic< 90mmHg) (medical screening)
  • Chronic renal failure (medical questionnaire)
  • Hypothyroidism (medical questionnaire)
  • Diabetes (medical questionnaire)
  • Hypersensitivity to phenothiazines (medical questionnaire)
  • Diagnosis of a cardiac disease (medical questionnaire)
  • Alcohol consumption in the 24 hours before the test session starts (yes/no self-report)
  • Food intake less than 3 hours before the test day (yes/no self-report)

Treatment and study plan

Placebo

Drug

oral formulation

haloperidol 2mg

Drug

oral formulation

propranolol 40mg

Drug

oral formulation

Primary outcomes

  1. Cost-benefit reinforcement learning performance

    Time frame: ~ 2.5 hours post-drug administration

    2-choice reinforcement learning task (based on Voulgaropoulou et al., 2021 PNEC)

Secondary outcomes

  1. Effort-based decision-making

    Time frame: ~ 2 hours post-drug administration

    motivation to acquire rewards (e.g., Reddy et al. 2015)

Other outcomes

  1. Physiology I

    Time frame: pre, +30 min., +60 min., +90 min., +120 min., +190 min. post-drug administration

    Heart rate

  2. Physiology II

    Time frame: pre, +30 min., +60 min., +90 min., +120 min., +190 min. post-drug administration

    blood pressure

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Maastricht University

Other

Registry information

Official study title

How Does the Brain Learn About Positive and Negative Things?

Important dates

Study start
2021
Primary completion
2023
Study completion
2023
First posted
Aug 28, 2023
Registry last updated
Aug 28, 2023

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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