Effects of glucose administration in fear reduction and extinction: clinical implications for exposure therapy

Effects of glucose administration in fear reduction and extinction: clinical implications for exposure therapy - FEG

Status

Active, not recruiting

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Interventional

Source

DRKS

Registry ID

DRKS00010550

Enrollment

Registered

2019-03-15

Start date

2019-03-25

Completion date

Unknown

Last updated

2025-04-07

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

In a first phase of the study only healthy participants are studied

Interventions

Group 1: Healthy participants are studied during a fear conditioning paradigm (Acquisition, Extinction, Re-Instatement, Extinction Recall). Before proceeding with extinction, participants receive a gl

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

All

Age

18 Years to 40 Years

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria: - Healthy volunteers - normal weight (BMI between 18.5 and 26) - For women: regular usage of hormonal contraceptives

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria: - Acute or chronic medical/psychiatric problems - Diabetes - Previous traumatic experience or acute depressive feelings - Prolonged intake of medication (exception: contraceptives) - Participation in pharmacological studies in the last 4 weeks - Regular consum of nicotine, alcohol or drugs - Tinnitus

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
- Differences in fear extinction, reinstatement and extinction recall between groups (glucose vs. placebo) - Paradigm used: Differential Fear Conditioning (Acquisition, Extinction, Reinstatement, Extinction Recall) - Variables of interest: Electrodermal response (EDA), startle reaction (EMG of the orbicularis oculi muscle), heart rate (ECG), subjective ratings of the stimulus (contingency awareness, fear, expectancy).	—

Measure

Time frame

- Differences in fear extinction, reinstatement and extinction recall between groups (glucose vs. placebo) - Paradigm used: Differential Fear Conditioning (Acquisition, Extinction, Reinstatement, Extinction Recall) - Variables of interest: Electrodermal response (EDA), startle reaction (EMG of the orbicularis oculi muscle), heart rate (ECG), subjective ratings of the stimulus (contingency awareness, fear, expectancy).

—

Secondary

Measure	Time frame
- Heart rate variability (HRV) and electrodermal response (EDA) assessed during resting state at different points of the experiment - Questionnaires assessed before the first experimental phase (SOP2, SOC, RS-11, IE4, ASKU, BDI-II and PHQ-9) - Questionnaires and subjective ratings (STAI-S, arousal, stress, activation, anxiety and unpleasantness of electroshock) assessed throughout the experiment - Blood glucose after drink consumption, measured with a blood glucose-monitoring device.	—

Measure

Time frame

- Heart rate variability (HRV) and electrodermal response (EDA) assessed during resting state at different points of the experiment - Questionnaires assessed before the first experimental phase (SOP2, SOC, RS-11, IE4, ASKU, BDI-II and PHQ-9) - Questionnaires and subjective ratings (STAI-S, arousal, stress, activation, anxiety and unpleasantness of electroshock) assessed throughout the experiment - Blood glucose after drink consumption, measured with a blood glucose-monitoring device.

—

Countries

Germany

Contacts

Public ContactDiana Ferreira de Sa´

Universita¨t des Saarlandes, Abteilung für Klinische Psychologie und Psychotherapie

diana.ferreira@uni-saarland.de+49 681 302 71209

Outcome results

None listed

Source: DRKS (via WHO ICTRP) · Data processed: Feb 8, 2026