healthy participants
Conditions
Interventions
Group 1: single oral dose of Hydrocortison (30mg) immediatly after extinktion in a fear conditioning paradigm with aversiv film clips
Group 2: single dose of placebo
Sponsors
Universität des Saarlandes, Klinische Psychologie und Psychotherapie
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
18 Years to 35 Years
Inclusion criteria
Inclusion criteria: healthy and normal weight participants, age between 18 and 35 years, non-smokers for women: hormonel contraceptions
Exclusion criteria
Exclusion criteria: - acute or chronic somatic or psychiatric disorders - current or previous increase of intraocular pressure (glaucoma) - positive family history of cerebral seizures or arterial vascular anomalies (aneurysms) - vaccination in the last 2 months or (planned) in the following month - participation in pharmacological studies within the last month - an increased arterial blood pressure (greater than 140/90 mmHg) - pregnancy or lactation - taking medication (except occasionally aspirin or acetaminophen to no more than one week prior to study entry) - regular use of nicotine, alcohol or drugs - sexual and physical violence experiences - acute clinical depression - acute or chronic disease of the hearing apparatus (f.e.acute otitis media, tinnitus)
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Continuous detection of physiological parameters (electrodermal activity, startle response and electrocardiogram) on each day of testing: during a 3 minute resting period, the conditioning trials (Day1: acquisition, Day 2: extinction, Day 3: Reinstatment) and then again in a 3 minute resting period, as a measure of physiological anxiety response. To assess the behavirol data we use subjective ratings before the stimulus onset, during stimulus presentation and and after the conditioning trials. The intrusives memories are collected using a diary during the three days of testing. The explicit memories of the movie contents are queried on the first day after the acquisition, and on the third day after the reinstatement with a specially developed recognition task. The load and disstress is recorded on the first and third day of testing with the Impact of Event Scale (IES-R) as well as particular subjective ratings (f.e. how anxious you feel). On all three days of testing saliva samples, assessing the endogenous cortisol levels, are conducted to estimate the reactivity of the subjects to the aversive films on teh first day and on cortisol administration on the second day. | — |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| predisposing factors: conditionability, stress reactivity, personality factors, basal cortisol levels and other peripheral physiological parameters (heart rate variability, blood pressure, respiration) | — |
Countries
Germany
Contacts
Public ContactAlexandra-Heike Gräbener
Universität des Saarlandes, Klinische Psychologie und Psychotherapie
Outcome results
None listed