Motivation and Executive Control in Schizophrenia

In order to control a behaviour, investigators need to realise goal directed actions and to priories some actions. This control is required in unusual situation. Appropriate actions are selected and coordinated according to context and aim.

Several studies try to draw a model of executive function. Recently, Koechlin has suggested a three levelled organisation to explain how the prefrontal cortex controls actions.

Contextual control is useful to answer appropriately with the immediate context. Episodic control allows selecting the action according to specific information given before. Sensorial control is the automatic response when a stimulus is presented.

Some diseases like schizophrenia are associated with neurological dysfunction in prefrontal cortex. Chambon and al (2008) have identified a dysfunction of contextual control in schizophrenia.

As the prefrontal cortex is involved in motivational process, it seems interesting to study potential links between executive function and motivation. A study from Kouneiher shows contextual and episodic activation of motivation in healthy population.

Investigators aim to study the way motivational process are recruited in schizophrenia.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Schizophrenia
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: realization of computerized exercises

Detailed Description

behavioral protocol. Letters (vowel and consonant; upper- or lower- case) are presented in several colours into successive blocks. Each block included a series of eight letters. Each colour required a specific task given by a fixed rule (contextual control) but for some colour, the rule changes sometimes (episodic control). Participants are informed that payoffs vary according to their own performance. A frame indicates essay with bonus reward. Moreover a dashed frame indicates a low-bonus reward and a solid frame means a high-bonus reward. Thus different blocks are designed: low-incentive block and high incentive block.

This reward increased from standard to bonus motivation in high-incentive block (contextual motivation) and from low to high according to the type of blocks (episodic motivation) Reaction time may be higher in bonus reward Patients with schizophrenia are not sensitive to contextual motivation, and therefore patients should behave differently than control in contextual motivation.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 41
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• France
  • Rhone-alpes
    • Bron, Rhone-alpes, France, 69678
      • Professeur FRANCK Nicolas

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 45 years (Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Age 18-45 years old
• schizophrenia
• french native speaker

Exclusion Criteria:

• Neurological disease
• Motor or visual deficit
• Somatic treatment with neurological impact
• Drug abuse

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Basic Science
• Allocation: Non-Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: schizophrenia group; Schizophrenia patients suffering	Other: realization of computerized exercises
Sham Comparator: control group; subjects showing no psychological or neurological disorder	Other: realization of computerized exercises

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
reaction time	reaction time is recorded when the subject press the key (subject should press a key function of the characteristics of the letter submitted)Reaction time should vary with the level of executive control (episodic, contextual, and motivation control (episodic or contextual motivation). Responses will be compared across patients and control.	24 hours

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Hôpital le Vinatier

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): November 1, 2012
• Primary Completion (Actual): April 24, 2018
• Study Completion (Actual): April 24, 2018

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: March 7, 2016
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 7, 2016
• First Posted (Estimate): April 12, 2016

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): April 26, 2018
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 24, 2018
• Last Verified: April 1, 2018

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: schizophrenia; motivation; executive control
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Mental Disorders; Schizophrenia Spectrum and Other Psychotic Disorders; Schizophrenia
• Other Study ID Numbers: 2012-A00026-37

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: No