Brain and decision making in groups

• Register: German Clinical Trials Register
• Last refreshed on: 8 April 2024
• Main ID: DRKS00012979
• Date of registration: 11/05/2018
• Prospective Registration: No
• Primary sponsor: Universitäre Neurorehabilitation, Universitätsklinik für Neurologie, Inselspital Bern
• Public title: Brain and decision making in groups
• Scientific title: Brain and decision making in groups
• Date of first enrolment: 18/09/2017
• Target sample size: 108
• Recruitment status: Complete
• URL: http://drks.de/search/en/trial/DRKS00012979
• Study type: interventional
• Study design: Allocation: Randomized controlled study; Masking: Blinded (masking used); Control: active//placebo; Assignment: parallel; Study design purpose: basic science
• Phase: N/A

Countries of recruitment

Switzerland

Contacts

• Name: Benedikt Langenbach
• Affiliation: Abteilung für Sozialpsychologie und Soziale Neurowissenschaft, Institut für Psychologie, Universität Bern

• Name: Benedikt Langenbach
• Affiliation: Abteilung Sozialpsychologie und Soziale Neurowissenschaft, Institut für Psychologie, Universität Bern

Key inclusion & exclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria: - No history of neurological illnesses or mental disorders
- written informed consent
- normal or corrected to normal vision
- right-handedness
Exclusion criteria: - Any instable medical condition, in particular epilepsy (past or present, including seizures or febrile
convulsions)
- Any surgical intervention to the brain
- Implanted medical devices (e.g., cochlear implants, infusion pumps, neurostimulators,
pacemakers)
- Presence of metal in the region of the head (excluding fixed dental implants such as tooth fillings or
fixed dental braces)
- Drug or alcohol abuse
- Intake of any medication that is likely to lower seizure threshold
- Being enrolled, or having been enrolled, in a university degree in psychology, economics,
sustainability studies, or social sciences
- For female participants: Pregnancy or breast feeding.

Age minimum: 18 Years
Age maximum: 35 Years
Gender: All

Health Condition(s) or Problem(s) studied

Basic research in the field of social neuroscience

Intervention(s)

Group 1: Continuous Theta Burst Stimulation (801 pulses, 44 seconds, at 80% of motor threshold) on the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex
Group 2: Continuous Theta Burst Stimulation (801 pulses, 44 seconds, at 80% of the motor threshold) on the vertex.
Group 3: Continous Theta Burst Stimulation (801 pulses, 44 seconds, at 80% of the motor threshold) on the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, but using a sham coil that reduces the strength of the stimulation by 80%.

Primary Outcome(s)

After a waiting period of about 5 minutes, participants engage in a economic game (a modified version of a common pool resource dilemma). In this game, they can extract points from a common pool which they share with other participants. They receive a monetary reward per extracted point. If too many points are extracted, the payoff for other participants in the future is reduced. The amount of points extracted in this game serves as primary outcome.

Secondary Outcome(s)

Participants will be asked which extraction in the economic game would have been fair.

Source(s) of Monetary Support

Jacobs Foundation

Dept. of Social Psychology and Social Neuroscience, Institute of Psychology, University of Bern

Ethics review

Status: Approved
Approval date: 22/08/2017
Contact:

[e-mail]

Kantonale Ethikkommission Bern

([phone]

[e-mail]

Results

• Date Completed: 27/10/2017
• URL: http://drks.de/search/en/trial/DRKS00012979#studyResults