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Low-dose Buprenorphine as a Modulator of Social Motivation in Schizophrenia

NCT05778591 · Status: RECRUITING · Phase: PHASE2 · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 40

Last updated 2026-04-28

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Low social motivation is a significant symptom of schizophrenia and is a major cause of disability and suffering for many patients struggling with the illness. Social motivation refers to the drive to participate in or abstain from social activities. Many patients with schizophrenia evidence both decreased drive to seek positive social input (approach motivation) and heightened drive to avoid negative social input (avoidance motivation) compared to individuals without the illness. Despite the enormous burden of these deficits on patients, there are no medications that effectively treat impaired social motivation. Buprenorphine is an unusual drug that is used to treat opioid use disorder at higher doses and more recently, to treat depression and suicidality at lower doses. It is a unique opioid medication that has a compound action that gives it the potential to improve social motivation both by boosting approach motivation and by reducing avoidance motivation. The effects of low doses of buprenorphine have previously. been studied in healthy volunteers, showing that the drug enhances social motivation. These results in nonclinical volunteers suggest that buprenorphine may be a promising treatment for deficits in social motivation seen in some patients with schizophrenia. However, no previous studies have investigated the effects of buprenorphine on social motivation in this population. Here the effects of a low dose of buprenorphine (0.15mg) on social motivation in patients with schizophrenia (N=40) will be assessed. In this double-blind, cross-over, placebo-controlled study, participants will attend a 2-hour preparatory session and two 6-hour laboratory sessions, at which they will receive either placebo or buprenorphine. During expected peak drug effect they will complete validated tasks assessing social motivation. It is expected that buprenorphine will increase approach motivation and decrease avoidance motivation as measured by an attention bias task. The results of this study will lay the foundation for the clinical use of buprenorphine as the first medication to treat social deficits in schizophrenia.

Conditions

Interventions

DRUG

Placebo

Placebo.

DRUG

Buprenorphine 0.15 MG [Belbuca]

Buprenorphine

Sponsors & Collaborators

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
QUADRUPLE
Model
CROSSOVER

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Max Age
60 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2024-05-17
Primary Completion
2026-12-01
Completion
2027-03-01
FDA Drug
Yes

Countries

  • United States

Study Locations

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Entities

Drugs
Diseases
Companies

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 NCT05778591 on ClinicalTrials.gov