Investigation of the neurobiological basis of processing reward-contingent audiovisual stimuli in a virtual gambling game through functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)

Conditions: Healthy subjects
F63.0
Pathological gambling

Registration Number: DRKS00021178

Lead Sponsor: Zentralinstitut für Seelische Gesundheit

Brief Summary: Not available

Detailed Description: Not available

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status: Pending

Sex: All

Target Recruitment: 40

Inclusion Criteria

Men and women between the ages of 18 and 65 years
- fulfillment of the diagnostic criteria of pathological gambling (DSM-V)
- sufficient ability to communicate with the investigators, answer questions in spoken and written form
- ability to consent after detailed written education (Fully Informed Consent)
- informed consent has to be in written form (Written Informed Consent)

Exclusion Criteria

- Withdrawal of the declaration of consent
- alcohol intoxication (breath alcohol concentration > 0.0 ‰)
- Axis I disorder according to DSM V (except: pathological gambling, nicotine addiction, mood disorders)
- Serious internal, neurological or psychiatric illness
- Currently existing manic episode
- Currently existing major depressive episode
- Currently existing Schizoaffective disorder
- Non-correctable visual impairment
- pregnancy
- left-handers
- use of psychotropic drugs within the last 7 days (except: taking antidepressants if their dose was unchanged for at least 30 days).
- Current substance abuse (THC, amphetamine, opiates, benzodiazepines, barbiturates and cocaine)
- exclusion criteria for fMRI-scans (see MRI information document Allgemeines Informationsblatt Kernspintomographische Forschung am Zentralinstitut für Seelische Gesundheit Mannheim)

Study & Design

Study Type: observational

Study Design: Not specified

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Difference in the level of brain activation in the mesolimbic system between the two experimental conditions with win-contingent stimuli vs. without win-contingent stimuli, which is measured at one point in time during two paradigms using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Difference in the frequency of the selection of the high-risk vs. Low-risk game variant (2 alternatives) while processing two pradigms with and without win-contingent stimuli, which are recorded at one time point (frequency of selection in the computer-based paradigm).