Study Brain Mechanisms of Frustration With Magnetoencephalography in Healthy Volunteers
Irritability
What this study involves
The registry says this study is recruiting. Individual locations may have different availability.
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Early Phase 1
- Age range
- 18 years - 55 years
- Sex eligible
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Participants
- 90 Estimated
These are starting points, not an eligibility decision. The research team must review the full requirements.
About the research
Background:
Irritability can be defined as an unusually strong response to frustration; these responses may include severe temper outbursts and a constant grumpy mood. Irritability is a common symptom of many mental health disorders. Little is known about how the brain responds to frustration, and few treatments are available for this problem. Researchers want to know more about how the brain responds to frustration.
Objective:
To learn how the brain responds to frustration.
Eligibility:
Healthy adults aged 18 to 55 years. They must have been screened through studies 01-M-0254 or 17-M-0181.
Design:
Participants will have up to 3 study visits in 2 months. Each visit will last up to 4 hours.
Visit 1: Participants will be screened. They will have a physical exam. They will complete questionnaires about how often and how easily they get angry or grumpy. They will be trained to use a device that measures hand grip.
Visit 2: Participants will have a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan. They will lie on a table that slides into a tube. Padding will hold their head still.
Visit 3: Participants will undergo magnetoencephalography (MEG). A cone with detectors will be lowered over their head while they are seated. The MEG will measure the magnetic fields in the participant s brain both while they are resting and while they are doing the frustration task. For the task, they will hold a grip device in each hand. They will use the devices to pick 1 of 2 doors on a computer screen. The task has 3 parts. The participant s face will be filmed during this task....
Read the full description
STUDY DESCRIPTION:
Participants in this study will be healthy adults. This protocol uses a frustration induction task, magnetoencephalography (MEG), and brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), coupled with physical and self-report assessment of frustration, to study brain mechanisms underlying frustration in adults. This study is part of a cross-species project; hence, hypotheses are based on neural mechanisms of frustration identified in mice.
OBJECTIVES:
To use a frustration induction task, MEG, and brain MRI, coupled with physical and self-report assessment of frustration, to measure how frustration alters synchronized neural activities and physical activities. Specifically, we will identify brain circuits and neural oscillations that potentially underly the emotional and behavioral consequences of frustration and characteristic changes in grip force, pupil/cornea size, and facial expressions that can be used as objective measurements of frustration.
ENDPOINTS:
1. The power of neural oscillations in the cortical-basal gangliathalamic circuit, which we hypothesize will be altered by frustration comparing pre and post-frustration resting states, and increased more by unexpected reward omission than reward attainment;
2. Coherence of neural oscillations in the above-mentioned circuit, which we hypothesize will be increased in the beta band by unexpected reward omission but not by expected reward omission, and that this decrease will accumulate with the number of frustration episodes; (3) Frustration rating by self-report, facial expression, pupil/cornea size, and the duration and strength of gripping, which we hypothesize will be higher after unexpected reward omission than after expected reward omission
Who may be able to participate?
The list below is the sponsor’s full registry wording. It can include conditions, prior treatment, test results and other requirements. A match in search does not mean you qualify.
-INCLUSION CRITERIA:
This study will include adult healthy volunteers.
- Age: 18-55
- Consent: can give consent
- Speak and read English
--The instruments have not been validated in other languages.
* At the NIH site, previously screened through other NIH protocols such as protocol 01-M-0254, 17-M-0181, and 93-M-0170 and determined eligible as healthy volunteers.
EXCLUSION CRITERIA:
An individual who meets any of the following criteria will be excluded from participation in this
study:
-Any serious medical condition
- History, physical exam, or laboratory testing including drug abuse screen.
-Prescription and over-the-counter medications and dietary supplements with psychoactive properties (e.g., St. John's Wort, Melatonin, Valerian)
-Any condition that interferes with MRI or MEG\*\*
* History
-Any current psychiatric diagnosis
* SCID-V, clinical assessment, or history.
-Pregnancy
* Pregnancy testing will be done before all MRIs.
-People who work on night shifts
* History
-Drug use
* Subjects with drug use or positive drug screen more than two years ago are eligible for participation.
-Need to wear eye glasses to work with computers\*
* History
-Need to wear contact lenses to work with computers\*\*,\*\*\*
* History
-Dental retainer\*\*
* Subjects wearing removable dental retainers are eligible for participation
- Eye glasses create artifacts in MEG and their rigid shape does not fit well in the MEG scanner. The MEG core has plastic optometry lenses that can be placed in paper frames. However, the paper frames need to be secured with tape which makes wearing them very uncomfortable, potentially promoting negative emotion and reducing the reliability of facial expression analysis.
- Only applies to the NIH site.
- Contact lenses create artifacts that interfere with eye-tracking.
Treatment, groups and participation
The registry may describe treatments and study duration without a complete visit calendar. Ask the study team for the exact schedule, procedures, risks, costs and alternatives. Keep your usual care plan unless your treating clinician tells you otherwise.
- Assignment
- Not applicable
- Masking
- No masking
Frustration task
The experimental manipulation for this study is the frustration task. The frustration task is designed to elicit the emotional state of frustrative non-reward (FNR). During the task, participants are asked to use button press (left or right) to alternately press one of the two doors displayed on the monitor. The task has two non-frustration blocks (Block 1 and 2) and one frustration block (Block 3). During the non-frustration blocks, participants earn money for correct press on a fixed schedule. During the frustrative block, participants will not always receive reward for correct press.
Other: Frustration task
Frustration task OTHER
The experimental manipulation for this study is the frustration task. The frustration task is designed to elicit the emotional state of frustrative non-reward (FNR). During the task, participants are asked to use button press (left or right) to alternately press one of the two doors displayed on the monitor. The task has two non-frustration blocks (Block 1 and 2) and one frustration block (Block 3). During the non-frustration blocks, participants earn money for correct press on a fixed schedule. During the frustrative block, participants will not always receive reward for correct press.
What researchers are measuring
Outcome measures describe what is being studied. They are not proof that a treatment works.
Primary measures
(1) The power of neural oscillations in the cortical-basal ganglia-thalamic circuit; (2) Coherence of neural oscillations in this circuit; (3) Frustration rating by self-report, facial expression, and the duration and strength of gripping.
Time frame: The measurements will be taken during the MEG/frustration task session.
MEG recording is acquired during the frustration task. 3-6 minutes of resting-state recording is acquired before, between, and after each block of the frustration task. Feelings of frustration and unhappiness were assessed after each run using 9-point Likert scales. Frustration assessment takes place before and after the task and between each block within the task. The strength and duration of gripping the press device during the task is recorded for all trials.
Review the complete result tables and limitations in the official record.
Open official results ↗Research locations (2)
The overall study status and a local site’s status can differ. Confirm that location’s availability before traveling.
2 locations
National Institutes of Health Clinical CenterBethesda, Maryland, United StatesRecruiting
Texas A&M UniversityCollege Station, Texas, United StatesNot yet recruiting
Study team and timeline
- Lead sponsor
- National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
- Study start
- Feb 21, 2025 Actual
- Primary completion
- Aug 31, 2027 Estimated
- Study completion
- Aug 31, 2027 Estimated
- First posted
- Jul 3, 2024 Actual
- Last updated
- Nov 10, 2026 Actual
Official study contacts
Official study title
Characterizing the Brain Circuitry and Neural Activity Mediating Frustration
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Source: ClinicalTrials.gov API v2. Information is submitted by sponsors and investigators. NLM does not approve the safety or science of all listed studies. Registry disclaimer.
Retrieved: Nov 12, 2026 · Last registry update: Nov 10, 2026