MedTrace Logo

VRT as a Biomarker of Cerebellar Dysfunction in Chronic Cannabis Use

NCT03662737 · Status: COMPLETED · Type: OBSERVATIONAL · Enrollment: 61

Last updated 2023-09-28

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Chronic cannabis consumption has been associated with poor psychosocial functioning that could be associated to cerebellar dysfunction. The cerebellum has a relevant role in adaptation processes and has a high density of cannabinoid 1 receptor (CB1R). Implicit motor learning is a cerebellum dependent function that can be measured with a visuomotor rotation task (VRT).

The project aims to identify a sensitive and specific biomarker of cerebellum dysfunction in chronic cannabis users. The investigators would like to demonstrate that the visuomotor rotation paradigm is valid to measure and quantify such a dysfunction.

A longitudinal prospective study with a 3 month follow-up is proposed. 3 groups will be included: 1) chronic cannabis users; 2) individuals with an alcohol use disorder; and 3) healthy controls. All groups will be matched by sex and age. Forty individuals will be included in each group. Individuals will be assessed at baseline, at first month and at 3-months of follow-up. Sociodemographic and clinical data will be recorded. Information on cannabis consumption will be registered using an App.

Participants will do the visuomotor rotation task and answer three questionnaires: the Intrinsic Motivation Inventory, the Scale for the assessment and rating of ataxia (SARA) and the Harris tests for lateral dominance.

The biomarker developed by this project will facilitate the detection of cerebellar alterations in chronic cannabis users, and will permit to quantify and monitor such alteration over time. The team's intention is to patent the proposed model and disseminate it in order to use it in clinical practice at both primary and specialized health centres.

Conditions

Interventions

DIAGNOSTIC_TEST

Visuomotor adaptation task

We will measure performance of the subjects of each group on the visuomotor adaptation task, especially in the rotation condition, in which a perturbation will be induced between the anticipated location of the hand and the provided visual feedback, and in the washout condition, in which the rotation will be removed. We expect that subjects with cannabis use disorder will not show the expected implicit motor adaptation to the perturbation and consequently no deterioration of performance on the task, due to cannabis-induced cerebellar damage. In other words, we want to show that this visuomotor task is a cheap and quick biomarker of cerebellar dysfunction in chronic cannabis users.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Hospital Clinic of Barcelona

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Antoni Gual, MD,PhD · Hospital clinic Bracelona

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Max Age
50 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2019-09-01
Primary Completion
2021-12-31
Completion
2021-12-31

Countries

  • Spain

Study Locations

More Related Trials

Entities

Diseases

Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT03662737 on ClinicalTrials.gov