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Social Reward Learning in Psychosis Study

This study is looking at how people with a recent first episode of psychosis (a mental health condition that affects how you think, feel, and behave) respond to social rewards. Researchers want to understand the link between not feeling pleasure from social interactions (social anhedonia) and how the brain processes social rewards. You might be eligible if you are 18-35 years old, have had your first episode of psychosis within the last three years, have a diagnosis of schizophrenia, schizophreniform, or schizoaffective disorder, and are taking second-generation antipsychotic medications. Participants will receive either Motivational Interviewing sessions, which focus on improving sensitivity to social rewards, or Nutrition Didactic Training. The study will measure your response bias, optimal responses, and brain activity using fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) at 3 weeks. The current recruitment status is unclear.

Study design
This study plans to enroll 152 participants and will randomly assign them to receive either Motivational Interviewing or Nutrition Didactic Training. Participants will be compared before and after their assigned intervention.
What's involved
You will participate in three sessions of either Motivational Interviewing or Nutrition Didactic Training. Before and after these sessions, you will complete two social reward learning tasks while in an fMRI scanner.
Compensation
Not stated in the trial record.
Follow-up
Your response bias, optimal responses, and fMRI activation levels will be measured at 3 weeks.

AI-generated from the public study record. Only the study team can confirm whether you're eligible — confirm details with them before making decisions.

NCT05617898

Determining the Role of Social Reward Learning in Social Anhedonia

Recruiting
NAAges 18–35InterventionalBasic science
University of Alabama at Birmingham
~152 participants
Updated 2026-07-27 on ClinicalTrials.gov
What's tested:Motivational InterviewingNutrition Didactic Training

At a glance

Recruiting sites
2 of 2 listed sites are recruiting right now
RecruitingSuspended, closed, or not yet open
What they're measuring
Response Bias
Measured over 3 weeks
+2 more outcomes measured

Conditions

Psychosis

Explore related trials

PsychosisSchizoaffective DisorderSchizophreniaSchizophreniform Disorder

Where it's being run

2 sites across 2 states
Alabama1
California1

Who to contact

Junghee Lee, PhD
[email protected]
205-934-8205
Email the study team

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Do you actually qualify for this trial?

Add a private profile and we'll compare every criterion below against your situation — and tell you which ones are met, uncertain, or excluding.

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Eligibility criteria

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 evidence that substance use makes the diagnosis ambiguous (rule out substance-induced psychosis)
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
For females: no current pregnancy
No sedatives or anxiolytics on the day of assessment
No medication change 3 weeks prior to enrollment

What this trial measures

  • Response Bias3 weeks

    Response bias is defined as the likelihood of making one response, such as the frequently rewarded stimulus, more than the other response during the perceptual social reward learning task

  • the number of optimal response3 weeks

    The number of optimal response is defined as the number of responses choosing a stimuli with optimal outcomes (e.g., choosing a good over a neutral machine or choosing a neutral over a bad machine) during the inductive social reward learning task.

  • fMRI activation levels3 weeks

    fMRI activation is defined as beta weights from general linear model from key regions of interests including the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and ventral striatum during the perceptual social reward learning task and the inductive social reward learning task.