Purpose

From activities of daily living to reaching our dreams, a desire to do, i.e. volition, drives us to achieve simple and long-term goals. This ability is so essential that deficits in volition result in profound disruptions in social function as seen in schizophrenia. Avolition is a core feature of schizophrenia and a negative symptom, which predicts poor long-term outcome, but unfortunately is particularly treatment resistant. We will image healthy reward circuitry with fMRI imaging during a monetary reward based task in 15 healthy subjects. These data will be used to delineate distributed circuits correlated with performance on the task using. We will use the fMRI maps to guide delivery of TMS to modulate function in the networks and on the task. Magnetic pulses, which can briefly block information flow in specific regions of the brain, will be applied to the scalp during the reward task presented on a computer screen. The results will confirm which regions of the brain are involved in reward dependent behavior and the timing of information flow among these regions. This study will provide knowledge of the neural basis of volition not available through functional imaging alone. Combining functional imaging and brain stimulation represents a critical step in the development of fMRI-guided TMS as a novel treatment for the negative symptoms of schizophrenia.

Type of Study: Observational Type
Setting of Study: outpatient
Clinical Trials.gov number: 
Providing Clinical Treatment?: No
Care is provided in languages: English

Study Activities

Filling Out Forms
Computer Tasks
Blood Samples
MRI Scan
Psychophysiology measurements
Provides Payment: Compensation for study related procedures

Eligibility

Ages Eligible for Study: 18 Years - 45 Years
Genders Eligible for Study: Both
This study is recruiting Healthy Volunteers.

Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:
Ages 18-45, Use of effective method of birth control for women of child-bearing capacity, Willing to provide informed consent

Links
Division of Brain Stimulation at Columbia University

Location: 1051 Riverside Drive, Unit 21 New York, NY 10032
Clinic: 
Division: 

Study chairs or principal investigators:
Arielle D Stanford MD, Principal Investigator

Co-investigators:
Sarah H. Lisanby,
Joy Hirsch,
Jim Moeller,