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Monetary Incentive Delay Task for Probing Reward-related Neural Processes

Neuromelanin MRI: A Tool for Non-invasive Investigation of Dopaminergic Abnormalities in Adolescent Substance Use

Who can join

Ages 14 to 17 · All sexes · Healthy volunteers welcome

Inclusion Criteria:

* Males and females ages 14-17 years-old;
* English-speaking for assent and interview completion;
* Capacity to provide assent.
* For parents, the inclusion criteria will be willing and capacity to provide parental permission/consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

* current (within 6 months) use of medication that may affect cerebral function
* history of severe medical or neurological illness, including stroke or seizure;
* history of head trauma with loss of consciousness;
* presence of metal in the body;
* pregnancy or breastfeeding;
* recent drug or alcohol use determined by positive urine toxicology or breathalyzer (to validate self-report assessment of substance use history);
* lifetime use of psychotropic or other medication that could likely influence dopamine function, namely stimulant medication or antipsychotic medication, except a subgroup of 25 youth with history of prescribed stimulant medication and a subgroup of 15 youth with history antipsychotic medication will be enrolled for comparison purposes.

About the study

150 males and 150 females ages 14-17 years-old will be enrolled in an observational, longitudinal study. There are three planned in-person visits: a baseline assessment, an 18-month follow-up, and a 36-month follow-up. The in-person visits will include assessment of substance use and other individual differences (e.g., reward function, psychiatric history), neuromelanin-sensitive MRI, as well as functional brain activation collected while the participant is at rest (resting-state fMRI) and while the participant completes a Monetary Incentive Delay task. Subjects will also be asked to complete past 90-day substance use assessments remotely every 90 days for 36 months.

What is being tested

• Monetary Incentive Delay Task (other)

Sponsor: Stony Brook University · Participants: 300 · Started: Apr 6, 2024

Contact the study team

• Greg Perlman, PhD · Phone: 1-631-638-1922
• Lu-Ann Kozlowski, BSN · Phone: 1-631-632-9036

Official record on ClinicalTrials.gov — NCT06369623

Locations in the U.S.

From ClinicalTrials.gov, data retrieved Oct 2, 2026. Each study sets its own eligibility; the study team decides who can join.