Context effects on the processing of social information depending on testosterone levels

Context effects on the processing of social information depending on testosterone levels - A02 WP2

Status

Active, not recruiting

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Interventional

Source

DRKS

Registry ID

DRKS00037057

Enrollment

120

Registered

2025-08-22

Start date

2025-08-22

Completion date

Unknown

Last updated

2025-10-06

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

Conditions

F60.31

Interventions

Group 1: T suppression: A single dose of a GnRH antagonist is administered to part of the patient group (female patients with borderline personality disorder) and part of the healthy subjects (female

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

Female

Age

18 Years to 40 Years

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria: - (for healthy control group): Healthy physical and mental condition - (for patient group): Presence of borderline personality disorder - Normal or corrected vision (glasses/contact lenses allowed) - Willingness to participate in fMRI measurements and hormonal manipulations

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria: - Hormonal imbalance or endocrinological diseases - Medication that affects the hormonal system - (for patient group): no presence of bipolar disorder or schizophrenia

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
- Effects of experimental context modulation on threat processing, reflected by the activation of the threat network (especially amygdala) and response biases towards threat. - The interaction between context and testosterone levels with the hypothesis that high T levels enhance the response to threat while low T levels attenuate it. - The interaction between borderline personality disorder (BPD) and testosterone levels with the hypothesis that there is an increased response to threat in BPD, which is reduced by T suppression especially in BPD.	—

Measure

Time frame

- Effects of experimental context modulation on threat processing, reflected by the activation of the threat network (especially amygdala) and response biases towards threat. - The interaction between context and testosterone levels with the hypothesis that high T levels enhance the response to threat while low T levels attenuate it. - The interaction between borderline personality disorder (BPD) and testosterone levels with the hypothesis that there is an increased response to threat in BPD, which is reduced by T suppression especially in BPD.

—

Secondary

Measure	Time frame
- Hostility bias in the interpretation of ambivalent and neutral gestures and various facial expressions. - Behavioral responses to potential threats and violations of interpersonal space (IPS). - Everyday experience of affect, perceived rejection and criticism, urge for and display of aggressive behavior, mood and expectations of side effects and effects of T-suppression/T-placebo (queries via EMA: before examination, day of examination, after examination).	—

Measure

Time frame

- Hostility bias in the interpretation of ambivalent and neutral gestures and various facial expressions. - Behavioral responses to potential threats and violations of interpersonal space (IPS). - Everyday experience of affect, perceived rejection and criticism, urge for and display of aggressive behavior, mood and expectations of side effects and effects of T-suppression/T-placebo (queries via EMA: before examination, day of examination, after examination).

—

Countries

Germany

Contacts

Public ContactKatja Bertsch

Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, Lehrstuhl für Psychologie I

katja.bertsch@uni-wuerzburg.de+49 931 31 86144

Outcome results

None listed

Source: DRKS (via WHO ICTRP) · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026