Citalopram and Stress Reactivity
Last updated on July 2021Recruitment
- Recruitment Status
- Recruiting
- Estimated Enrollment
- Same as current
Summary
- Conditions
- Antidepressive Agents
- Cognition
- Depression
- Depressive Disorder
- Mental Disorder
- Stress
- Type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Not Applicable
- Design
- Allocation: RandomizedIntervention Model: Parallel AssignmentIntervention Model Description: Following the screening, eligible participants will be randomised to receive either a single 20mg oral dose of citalopram or a matched lactose placebo tablet using an online randomisation tool. Note that the study is not assessing the safety or efficacy of citalopram, rather it is using citalopram to understand the role of serotonin in stress reactivity.Masking: Triple (Participant, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)Primary Purpose: Basic Science
Participation Requirements
- Age
- Between 18 years and 45 years
- Gender
- Both males and females
Description
In the Oxford Cognition Stress Task (OCST), participants are presented with a series of mental arithmetic, verbal (anagrams) and visuospatial (visual search) challenges on a computer screen. There is a time limit for completing each challenge, which is displayed on the screen as a time bar. To induc...
In the Oxford Cognition Stress Task (OCST), participants are presented with a series of mental arithmetic, verbal (anagrams) and visuospatial (visual search) challenges on a computer screen. There is a time limit for completing each challenge, which is displayed on the screen as a time bar. To induce a high failure rate, the timing and difficulty of the challenges is automatically varied to ensure participants are correctly complete only 20-40% of the challenges within the time, and some of the verbal challenges (anagrams) are impossible to solve. Participants are given feedback on their performance on the screen which indicates that they are performing badly. Heart rate will be measured continuously during the OCST, and during pre- and post- task periods. Baseline and post-OCST measures of blood pressure and samples of saliva (for cortisol analysis) will be taken. Participants will also complete Visual Analogue Scales pre- and post-OCST to give a subjective measure of stress and mood. Participants will not be told the extent to which becoming stressed (and finding the task difficult) is intended. At the end of the test session, participants will be fully debriefed as to the nature of the OCST.
Tracking Information
- NCT #
- NCT04161209
- Collaborators
- University of Bath
- Investigators
- Principal Investigator: Susannah Murphy, DPhil University of Oxford
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