Motor Cortex Reward Signaling in Parkinson Disease
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ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00558766 |
Recruitment Status :
Completed
First Posted : November 15, 2007
Last Update Posted : July 2, 2017
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Background:
The brain releases signals to mark rewards for certain behavior. Some medications for Parkinson disease (PD) can cause some patients to engage in compulsive behavior, possibly because the medications affect this reward system.
By using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), researchers can study brain activity when an individual receives a reward.
Objectives:
To learn how the brains of people with PD behave when rewarded.
To learn whether two common Parkinson medications (levodopa and pramipexole) change this behavior.
To compare reward signals in the brains of healthy volunteers with reward signals in the brains of people with PD.
Eligibility:
Women between 50 and 80 years of age and men between 45 and 80 years of age.
Participants will be divided into healthy volunteers and volunteers who have mild to moderate PD.
Design:
Prescreening will consist of a neurological examination and a series of questions about gambling habits and drug and alcohol use.
Participation in a TMS study involving a computer game simulation of a slot machine:
- Before the simulation, participants will receive TMS to establish a baseline response rate.
- During the simulation, participants will play a game in which they will receive real money.
TMS will be administered to each patient under three different conditions:
- TMS administered when patients have not taken any Parkinson medication.
- TMS administered after patients have taken levodopa.
- TMS administered after patients have taken pramipexole....
Condition or disease |
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Parkinson Disease |
Study Type : | Observational |
Actual Enrollment : | 35 participants |
Time Perspective: | Prospective |
Official Title: | Motor Cortex Reward Signaling in Parkinson Disease |
Study Start Date : | November 8, 2007 |
Study Completion Date : | June 13, 2011 |


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Ages Eligible for Study: | 45 Years to 70 Years (Adult, Older Adult) |
Sexes Eligible for Study: | All |
Accepts Healthy Volunteers: | No |
- INCLUSION CRITERIA:
HEALTHY SUBJECTS:
-Age 45-70 years
PATIENTS:
- Mild-moderate disease (Hoehn and Yahr stage 1-2).
- Age 45-70 yrs
EXCLUSION CRITERIA:
- Pre-menopausal status in women: Preliminary data in healthy, cycling women suggests that the variation in paired-pulse inhibition caused by the menstrual cycle may obscure the change in the response induced by the behavioral task.
- Significant neurological or psychiatric history other than PD
- Exposure to DA agonists within a month of study
- History of habitual gambling, defined as either visiting casinos more than once per month or playing cards for money more than once per week or gambling over the internet more than once per month
- Habitual consumption of more than two drinks a day, marijuana more than once a week or any other illicit drug use within the last three months
- Significant abnormality on neurological examination other than PD related signs
- Metal in the cranial cavity or eye, pacemaker, implanted pumps or stimulators
- Use of non-PD related medications affecting the DA system, such as phenothiazine antihistamines (promethazine), antiemetics or decongestants in the last month

To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contact information provided by the sponsor.
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier (NCT number): NCT00558766
United States, Maryland | |
National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, 9000 Rockville Pike | |
Bethesda, Maryland, United States, 20892 |
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: | NCT00558766 |
Other Study ID Numbers: |
080023 08-N-0023 |
First Posted: | November 15, 2007 Key Record Dates |
Last Update Posted: | July 2, 2017 |
Last Verified: | June 13, 2011 |
Disruptive Behavior Disorders Behavior Gambling Dopaminergic Mechanisms |
Dopamine Parkinson Disease PD |
Parkinson Disease Parkinsonian Disorders Basal Ganglia Diseases Brain Diseases Central Nervous System Diseases |
Nervous System Diseases Movement Disorders Synucleinopathies Neurodegenerative Diseases |