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Serotonin-receptor Agonism in Reward Processing

NCT05357547 · Status: COMPLETED · Phase: PHASE2 · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 63

Last updated 2023-05-11

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

There is growing animal and human evidence for role of 5HT1A receptor agonism in treating depression and reward deficits. The next step is to translate this evidence directly into humans by characterising the effects of buspirone, as a 5HT1A agonist, on cognitive models of reward and emotional processing.

There is a paucity of behavioural evidence for the effect of 5HT1A receptor agonism, using buspirone as a probe, on primary reward processing (e.g. food), effort-based decision making or reward learning. Furthermore, the effects of 5HT1A agonism on non-emotive cognition, such as working memory, has yet to be investigated at a behavioural level in humans.

This study will characterise the effects of buspirone, as a probe for 5HT1A receptor agonism, on reward processing in human cognitive models. Furthermore it will examine its role in emotional processing and working memory. This will add to the evidence base of the neurocognitive effects of 5HT1A receptor agonism in humans, which is of relevance to the development of this as a target for future treatment development.

The study will be a double blinded, placebo controlled study involving healthy volunteers. Participants will receive a single dose of buspirone and then undergo a battery of psychometric testing to examine reward processing, emotional processing and a memory. Frequent monitoring of temperature and salivary cortisol shall be taken as surrogate markers of pre- and postsynaptic 5HT1A receptor activation.

Conditions

  • Anhedonia

Interventions

DRUG

Buspirone 20mg

Buspirone tablets in opaque capsule. Used as probe for 5HT1A agonism

DRUG

Placebo comparator

Lactose-sucrose tablets in opaque capsule

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • University of Oxford

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Catherine Harmer, DPhil · University of Oxford

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
TRIPLE
Model
PARALLEL

Eligibility

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

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2022-05-13
Primary Completion
2023-04-18
Completion
2023-04-18

Countries

  • United Kingdom

Study Locations

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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 NCT05357547 on ClinicalTrials.gov