Motivation and reward learning in people with chronic neuropathic pain
Official title: Motivational Behavioral and Functional MRI Impairment in Patients With Chronic Neuropathic Pain
Run by Fondation Ophtalmologique Adolphe de Rothschild · NCT05701852 · Data updated 2026-11-12
It tests whether people with chronic neuropathic pain have a reduced capacity for reward learning by measuring behavior and brain activity during a reward-learning task.
Quick facts
| Study type | Observational |
|---|---|
| Ages | 18 Years and up |
| Sex | All |
| Enrollment | 50 (estimated) |
| Sponsor | Fondation Ophtalmologique Adolphe de Rothschild Research network |
| Locations | 1 site (Paris) |
| Status | Recruiting |
| Started | December 19, 2023 |
| Main results expected | May 2027 |
| Study ends | May 2027 |
| Registry record updated | January 5, 2026 |
| Trial ID | NCT05701852 on ClinicalTrials.gov |
Is this trial a fit for you?
✓Likely a good fit
Adults with chronic neuropathic pain treated at the neurosurgery department or CETD of the sponsoring center who can undergo MRI, do behavioral tasks, and do not have major depression, neuroinflammatory/degenerative disease, or high-dose opioid use.
✕Probably not a fit
People with clinical depressive syndrome, high-dose opioid treatment, significant cognitive impairment, or any absolute contraindication to MRI are excluded and therefore unlikely to benefit from the protocol's findings or participation.
A plain-English reading of the study's rules. Only the study team can confirm whether you qualify.
What this trial studies
This observational study compares people with chronic neuropathic pain to age- and sex-matched healthy controls using a computerized reward-learning task performed during functional MRI. Researchers will measure behavioral performance on the task and corresponding BOLD responses in key reward-system regions to probe alterations in reward circuitry. The work targets the dopaminergic-dependent mechanisms thought to underlie motivational deficits in chronic pain. Standard exclusions include neurodegenerative or inflammatory neurological disease, clinical depressive syndrome, high-dose opioid use, cognitive inability to perform tasks, and contraindications to MRI.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the findings could clarify why some patients with chronic neuropathic pain have motivational deficits and guide development of treatments targeting reward processing.
How similar studies have gone: Previous fMRI and behavioral studies have reported altered reward processing in chronic pain, so this approach builds on existing evidence rather than being entirely novel.
Who can join: the full rules
Show full inclusion / exclusion criteria
Inclusion Criteria: * For cases: patients managed in the neurosurgery department or at CETD for chronic neuropathic pain, of central or peripheral origin. * For controls: matched to a case on age (±5 years) and sex Exclusion Criteria: * Neurodegenerative or inflammatory neurological pathology * Clinical depressive syndrome * High doses of opioid treatment (greater than 100 mg/day of morphine equivalent) * Impaired judgment or inability to receive information that does not allow the performance of behavioral tasks * Absolute contraindication to MRI (e.g. pacemaker, implantable pacemaker, metallic intra-orbital foreign body)
Where it's running
-
Hôpital Fondation Adolphe de Rothschild
Paris, France Recruiting
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How to take part
- Review the eligibility criteria above with your treating physician.
- Check the official listing on ClinicalTrials.gov for the latest contact details and recruitment status.
- Contact the study coordinator or principal investigator to ask for pre-screening. Pre-screening is free and never obligates you to enroll.