Neurobehavioral Signatures of Sign- and Goal-Tracking in Emerging Adults: Translation of a Preclinical Model

Not Applicable

Not yet recruiting

• Conditions: Substance Use; Healthy

• Registration Number: NCT07094061
• Lead Sponsor: University of Michigan

Brief Summary

This study seeks to understand individual differences in personality, brain function, and behavior.

Study hypothesis:

- A stronger sign-tracking bias will be associated with a bottom-up processing style characterized by less adaptive attentional- and impulse-control as well as hyperactive reward processing, whereas a stronger goal-tracking bias will be associated with a top-down processing style characterized by strong attentional- and impulse-control as well as normative reward processing.

Detailed Description

Not available

Study Timeline

• Status Verified: 2025-07
• Study First Submitted: 2025-07-22
• Study First Submitted QC: 2025-07-22
• Last Update Submitted: 2025-07-22
• Study First Posted: 2025-07-30
• Last Update Posted: 2025-07-30
• Study Start: 2025-08-01
• Primary Completion: 2027-08
• Study Completion: 2027-08-01

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: NOT_YET_RECRUITING
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 294

Inclusion Criteria

• 18-20 years old at baseline
• Right-handed
• Medically/physically able to give informed consent
• English-speaking
• Substance use is free to vary, but for participants with a history of substance use, ≥ 1 use of cannabis (including less than a full dose)

Exclusion Criteria

• Acute or chronic medical or neurological illness (e.g., diabetes, epilepsy, migraine)
• History of psychosis in self or first-degree relative
• Current treatment for substance use disorder
• Current or past 6-month treatment with centrally acting medications (not including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medication)
• Intelligence quotient (IQ) < 70
• Lifetime history of head trauma with loss of consciousness > 5 minutes
• Colorblindness
• MRI contraindication (e.g., pregnancy, metal implants, claustrophobia) per protocol

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: SINGLE_GROUP

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Correlation between Pavlovian conditioned approach (PavCA) bias score (out-of-scanner) and composite cannabis use score	Baseline	PavCA bias score based on eye gaze during the Pavlovian conditioned approach task will be correlated with a cannabis use composite score based on the Substance Use History and Timeline Follow-Back.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Correlation between PavCA bias score (out-of-scanner) and activation from the Cannabis Cue Reactivity Task (P-CAN)	Baseline	PavCA bias score based on eye gaze during the Pavlovian conditioned approach task will be correlated with the first principal component of average parameter estimates from the following regions extracted for the cannabis vs. neutral contrast: ventral striatum, anterior cingulate, posterior cingulate, insula, amygdala, orbitofrontal cortex, inferior occipital cortex, and inferior parietal cortex

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

University of Michigan; 🇺🇸 Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States