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Rewards Sensitivity After Brain Injury

Preserved Reward Sensitivity During Acute Rehabilitation Following Acquired Brain Injury

Status
Completed
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT06510023
Enrollment
31
Registered
2024-07-19
Start date
2021-03-21
Completion date
2022-03-20
Last updated
2024-07-19

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

Conditions

Acquired Brain Injury

Keywords

Rewards Sensitivity, Motivation, Acquired Brain Injury, Electrodermal Activity

Brief summary

A study measuring rewards sensitivity in individuals with acquired brain injury at an acute rehabilitation level.

Detailed description

Individuals in acute rehabilitation following acquired brain injury journal (ABI) and aged-matched, non-injured controls will be recruited for this study. Testing sessions will take place in a private treatment room at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab and required 45 minutes to complete. Upon entering the room, participants will be greeted, electrodes placed on the participant's fingers to record their electrodermal activity, and participants will provide demographic information. Participants will then be instructed about how to respond on the Cued Reinforcement Response Time task (CRRT, see description below), and complete the task on a laptop computer while their electrodermal activity is being recorded. In this task, they are instructed to respond as quickly and accurately as possible, and will be informed that they will receive a monetary reward based on their accuracy at the completion of the task. Finally, participants will complete 3 self-report measures: (1) explicit level of motivation was measured in a post-study survey which included two items from the Sensitivity to Punishment and Sensitivity to Reward Questionnaire, (SPSRQ); (2) Reward sensitivity was evaluated using the Reward Responsiveness Scale , and (3) depression was evaluated using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-8) survey. At the end of the session, the electrodes will be removed, and participants will be debriefed and provided their monetary reward

Interventions

BEHAVIORALType of reward presented

Three different types of rewards were presented to both groups during the computerized task: one dollar, one penny, and no reward.

Sponsors

Shirley Ryan AbilityLab
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
NON_RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
FACTORIAL
Primary purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
NONE

Intervention model description

2X3 non-randomized, within-participant design.

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 80 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

* Individuals with ABI * Diagnosis of Traumatic Brain Injury or Stroke, based on their medical records * Age between 18-100 * Able to follow directions in English (measured informally during screening) * Able to use at least one upper extremity (demonstrated by holding a pen) * Mild-moderate or lesser diagnosis in cognitive-communication area * Score of 25 or higher on the Orientation Log assessment * Able to consent for participation in study (identifies through chart review) * Capable of understanding and cooperating with the experimental procedures. Healthy participants * Age of 18 to 100 years old * Ability to follow directions in English * Ability to use at least one upper extremity.

Exclusion criteria

* Individuals with ABI * Additional diagnosis of a neurological disorder other than ABI * Additional diagnosis of aphasia. * Having cognitive or behavioral impairments that preclude participation in the experimental procedures Healthy Participants • history of significant cerebrovascular or neurological disease including (but not limited to) meningitis, epilepsy and/or seizures, stroke, tumor, multiple sclerosis, meningitis, mental retardation, dementia.

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Performance on a Cued Response Reaction Time Task, in each of the three rewards conditions (Dollar, Penny, No reward)15 minutesAccuracy (percentage of correct responses) in a Cued Response Reaction task
Electrodermal activity (EDA) before, during and after the Cued Response Reaction task30 minutesNumber of skin conductance responses (SCRs) before, during and after the task

Countries

United States

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026