N/A
N=66
Arbitration Between Habitual and Goal-directed Behavior in Obsessive-compulsive Disorder: Circuit Dynamics and Effects of Noninvasive Neurostimulation
OCD · Decision-Making · tDCS · fMRI
Bottom Line
View on ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT04075890 ↗Enrolled (actual)
66
Serious AEs
0.0%
Results posted
Dec 2025
Primary outcome: Primary: Strength of Behaving Model-based (Goal-directed) — 0.09; 0.07; -0.08; 0.06 units on a scale
Study Design & Population
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- N/A
- Interventions
- transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) (Device)
- Age
- Adult, Older Adult · 18+ yrs
- Sex
- All
- Sponsor
- University of California, Los Angeles
- Primary completion
- Jan 2024
Outcome Measures
| Outcome | Result | p-value |
|---|---|---|
| PRIMARY Strength of Behaving Model-based (Goal-directed) |
0.09; 0.07; -0.08; 0.06 | — |
| PRIMARY Reaction Time in Response to Stimuli With OCD Themes |
5.6; 5.5; 4.3; 4.8 | — |
| PRIMARY Strength of Frontal Arbitration Modulation of Basal Ganglia Habit Region. |
-0.07; -0.06; -0.003; -0.004 | — |
Summary
People utilize two behavioral strategies, goal-directed and habitual, when engaging in value-based decision-making that involves rewarding or punishing outcomes. Accumulating evidence suggests an imbalance between habitual and goal-directed behavior in favor of habitual control in parallel with exaggerated tendency toward compulsive/harm avoidance behavior in OCD. In healthy subjects, an arbitration mechanism has been proposed recently that controls the balance between those two strategies of action selection. Arbitration regions regulate the goal-directed/habitual decision-making balance by selectively downregulating the activity of the habitual regions. This project aims to explore the neurobehavioral characteristics of arbitration mechanism and its relationship with behaviors and clinical phenotypes in OCD by applying computational cognitive neuroscience, clinical task-based functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) method.
Eligibility Criteria
A) OCD participants inclusion criteria:
- DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for OCD as primary (most severe) diagnosis (based on the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview).
- Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (YBOCS) total score is equal or greater than 16.
- unmediated or being on a stable dose of medication (only SSRIs and clomipramine) for at least 12 weeks prior to the study.
- fluent English speaker.
- signed informed consent.
B) OCD participants exclusion criteria:
- IQ greater than 80 on the Wechsler Abbreviated Scales of Intelligence.
- lifetime DSM-5 diagnosis of mania, psychotic disorder, or substance dependence (per MINI).
- current DSM-5 diagnosis of MDD if Montgomery-Asberg Depression Scale (MADRS) scores are equal or greater than 35 (severe), or ADHD.
- taking any psychotropic medication other than SSRIs or clomipramine.
- severe psychiatric symptom that requires immediate inpatient psychiatric intervention such as suicidality.
- presence of any serious psychiatric, psychosocial, or neurological condition requiring immediate treatment.
C) Healthy control inclusion criteria:
1-males and females age 18-65 years with signed informed consent and IQ greater than 80 on WASI.
D) Exclusion criteria for all participants:
- presence of any MR scan contraindications particularly body metal or positive pregnancy test.
- medical conditions in which cerebral metabolism might be compromised such as thyroid disorders, diabetes or current tobacco smoking (potential effect on imaging endpoints).
- any history of seizure disorders.
Data sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT04075890). Outcome figures and adverse-event rates are extracted automatically from the registry's posted results and are provided for clinician reference, not as a substitute for the primary publication.