The role of the dopamine and opioid systems in pain-avoidance learning

The role of the dopamine and opioid systems in pain-avoidance learning - dopamine, opioids and pain-avoidance learning

Status

Active, not recruiting

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Observational

Source

NL-OMON

Registry ID

NL-OMON42474

Enrollment

Registered

2015-07-08

Start date

2015-07-14

Completion date

Unknown

Last updated

2024-04-23

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

Conditions

scientific investigation of healthy subjects healthy

Interventions

None listed

Eligibility

Age

18 Years to 99 Years

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria: Healthy adult subjects with no history of neurological disorder/disease or chronic pain, and no counter-indications to 3 Tesla MRI or to levodopa or naltrexone, and no personal relationship with the researchers will be included in this study. All participants will be right-handed native-Dutch speakers with normal vision or contact lenses.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria: Potential participants will be prescreened for contra-indications for 3 Tesla fMRI and levodopa/naltrexone, which include metal implants, heart arrhythmia, claustrophobia, glaucoma, hypertension and use of anti-depressants or psychotropic medication and possible pregnancy (in adult females). They will additionally be prescreened for head trauma, premature birth, learning disabilities, chronic pain, and history of neurological or psychiatric illness. Finally, left-handed individuals will be excluded from the study because some left-handers have substantially different brain organization relative to right-handers.

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
Brain activation, pupillometry and skin-conductance responses during the pain-avoidance learning task: Functional neuroimaging will be performed at the 3T fMRI scanner of the LIBC, located in the LUMC. BOLD activity will be measured using standard gradient-echo echoplanar imaging (EPI) parameters. Simultaneously, pupil diameter will be measured using an EyeLink 1000 fMRI compatible eye tracker, and electrodermal (i.e., skin conductance) activity will be measured using two electrodes attached to the hand. Behavioral performance on the pain-avoidance learning task and reward-learning task: Participants' choice behavior during the two learning tasks will be recorded, as well as their pain ratings during the pain-avoidance learning task. Working-memory performance and eye blink rate will be measured, as indices of central dopaminergic function (e.g., Cools, Gibbs, Miyakawa, Jagust, & D'Esposito, 2008; Karson, 1983). Personality questionnaires: The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Adults (STAI; Spielberger, Gorsuch, Lushene, Vagg & Jacobs, 1983), the Fear of Pain questionnaire (FOP; McNeil & Rainwater, 1998), the Behavioural Inhibition System and Behavioural Activation System scales (BIS/BAS; Carver & White, 1994), and the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS; Patton et al., 1995) will be administered. Scores on these questionnaires may explain a substantial part of the inter-individual variance in the results.	—

Measure

Time frame

Brain activation, pupillometry and skin-conductance responses during the pain-avoidance learning task: Functional neuroimaging will be performed at the 3T fMRI scanner of the LIBC, located in the LUMC. BOLD activity will be measured using standard gradient-echo echoplanar imaging (EPI) parameters. Simultaneously, pupil diameter will be measured using an EyeLink 1000 fMRI compatible eye tracker, and electrodermal (i.e., skin conductance) activity will be measured using two electrodes attached to the hand. Behavioral performance on the pain-avoidance learning task and reward-learning task: Participants' choice behavior during the two learning tasks will be recorded, as well as their pain ratings during the pain-avoidance learning task. Working-memory performance and eye blink rate will be measured, as indices of central dopaminergic function (e.g., Cools, Gibbs, Miyakawa, Jagust, & D'Esposito, 2008; Karson, 1983). Personality questionnaires: The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Adults (STAI; Spielberger, Gorsuch, Lushene, Vagg & Jacobs, 1983), the Fear of Pain questionnaire (FOP; McNeil & Rainwater, 1998), the Behavioural Inhibition System and Behavioural Activation System scales (BIS/BAS; Carver & White, 1994), and the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS; Patton et al., 1995) will be administered. Scores on these questionnaires may explain a substantial part of the inter-individual variance in the results.

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Countries

Netherlands

Outcome results