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Validating Reward-related Biomarkers (RTOC)

Validating Reward-related Biomarkers to Facilitate Development of New Treatments for Anhedonia and Reward Processing Deficits in Schizophrenia and Major Depressive Disorder

Status
Completed
Phases
Unknown
Study type
Observational
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT04024371
Acronym
RTOC
Enrollment
160
Registered
2019-07-18
Start date
2019-09-16
Completion date
2021-02-01
Last updated
2022-07-26

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Anhedonia, Physical, Anhedonia, Social, Depression, Motivation, Negative Symptoms With Primary Psychotic Disorder, Schizophrenia

Brief summary

Deficits or abnormalities in reward processing are present in a number of psychiatric disorders. The overarching objective of the study is to conduct initial validation work towards optimising three experimental tasks - which have previously been shown to be sensitive to reward processing deficits - for future use in clinical trials. This initial validation work has the primary objective to uncover group differences in task outcome measures between healthy control participants, participants with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and participants with schizophrenia (SZ) using statistical analyses. This may provide some indications for the use of these tasks as clinically-relevant biomarkers. Primary aims include: (i) comparing the investigator's endpoint means and distributions to those in previously published data; (ii) replication of previously-reported differences between MDD/SZ vs. healthy control participants, and, (iii) exploring the relationship between task endpoints and subjective participant- and clinician-rated report of reward-related constructs (e.g. anhedonia, negative symptoms).

Interventions

BEHAVIORALSelf-rating Questionnaires

* Snaith-Hamilton Pleasure Scale (SHAPS; Snaith et al. 1995) * Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology (QIDS; 16 items) * Behavioral avoidance/inhibition Scales (BIS/BAS)

BEHAVIORALMeasures of Reward processing/reinforcement learning

* Grip Strength Effort Task (Reddy et al. 2015; in combination with EEG) * Doors (Gambling) task (Foti and Hajcak 2009; in combination with EEG) * Reinforcement Learning/Working Memory task (Collins et al. 2017; no EEG)

BEHAVIORALAdditional Schizophrenia-specific Questionnaires and Interviews

* Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS: Kay et al. 1987) * Brief Negative Symptom Scale (BNSS; Kirkpatrick et al. 2011)

Sponsors

P1vital Products LTD.
CollaboratorUNKNOWN
Biotrial
CollaboratorINDUSTRY
University Hospital Frankfurt, Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy
CollaboratorUNKNOWN
The Institute of Neuropsychiatry and Addictions (INAD), Parc de Salut Mar, Barcelona
CollaboratorUNKNOWN
Aristotle University Of Thessaloniki
CollaboratorOTHER
Maastricht University, School for Mental Health and Neuroscience
CollaboratorUNKNOWN
Maastricht University
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Observational model
CASE_CONTROL
Time perspective
CROSS_SECTIONAL

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
20 Years to 55 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

General: 1. Be able to provide signed and dated informed consent for study participation. 2. Be male or female, aged between 20 and 55 years, inclusive. 3. Be able to read, write, and speak the language in which psychometric tests are provided, with acceptable visual and auditory acuity (corrected if necessary). 4. Unless otherwise stated, CNS medications to treat symptoms of MDD or SZ and other stable CNS conditions requiring medication is permitted in the MDD and SZ groups, provided the daily dose of medication has not been changed by more than +/- 30% in the last 4 weeks before the start of the study, and is not expected to change by a larger fraction while participating in the study. MDD Participants must: 1. Have a primary Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 5th edition (DSM-5) diagnosis of MDD, confirmed by the result of the MINI interview conducted by the site at screening. Subjects with a diagnosis of comorbid Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD), Panic Disorder or specific phobia may be included. 2. Meet the DSM-5 criteria for a current Major Depressive Episode, with the current depressive episode not having lasted longer than 6 months. 3. If undergoing treatment, be currently treated with an antidepressant approved in this protocol for at least 4 continuous weeks. Psychological treatments (e.g., Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, Interpersonal Psychotherapy, Psychodynamic Psychotherapy etc.) are all permitted in this study regardless of frequency and duration. SZ Subjects must: 1. Have a primary diagnosis of schizophrenia according to the Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 5th edition (DSM-5), confirmed by the result of the MINI interview conducted by the site at screening. Subjects with a diagnosis of comorbid Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD), Panic Disorder or specific phobia may be included. 2. Dose of antipsychotics not exceeding the equivalent of 6 mg risperidone.

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Grip effort outcomeDay 1Percentage of hard task choices at different reward levels
Doors task outcomeDay 1Feedback negativity, an event-related potential (ERP) at approximately 300ms after feedback presentation indicating a favourable versus unfavourable outcome in paradigms in which the participant loses or wins money.
RL/WM task outcomeDay 1Accuracy as function of set size (difficulty)

Countries

Germany, Greece, Netherlands, Spain

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 17, 2026