Healthy
Conditions
Brief summary
The study will test the effect of dopamine, serotonin, and direct 5-HT2A receptor stimulation on empathy, mood perception, and amygdala activity to fearful stimuli. In addition, we predict associations between subjective effects/alterations in emotion processing tests and functional imaging (fMRI) activity.
Interventions
DRUGLSD
100ug per os, single dose
DRUGMDMA
125mg per os, single dose
DRUGAmphetamine
40.3mg per os, single dose
DRUGPlacebo
Capsules containing mannitol looking identical to the other drugs
Sponsors
University Hospital, Basel, Switzerland
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
CROSSOVER
Primary purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
QUADRUPLE (Subject, Caregiver, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
25 Years to 50 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
1. Age between 25 and 50 years. 2. Sufficient understanding of the German language 3. Subjects understand the procedures and the risks associated with the study. 4. Participants must be willing to adhere to the protocol and sign the consent form. 5. Participants must be willing to refrain from taking illicit psychoactive substances during the study. 6. Participants must be willing to drink only alcohol-free liquids and no coffee, black or green tea, or energy drink after midnight of the evening before the study session, as well as during the study day. 7. Participants must be willing not to drive a traffic vehicle or to operate machines within 48 h after substance administration. 8. Women of childbearing potential must have a negative pregnancy test at the beginning of the study. Pregnancy tests are repeated before each study session. Women and men must agree to use an effective form of birth control (double-barrier method). 9. Body mass index 18-29 kg/m2.
Exclusion criteria
1. Chronic or acute medical condition 2. Hypertension (\>140/90 mmHg) or Hypotension (SBP\<85 mmHg) 3. Current or previous major psychiatric disorder 4. Psychotic disorder in first-degree relatives 5. Illicit substance use (with the exception of cannabis) more than 10 times or any time within the previous two months. 6. Pregnant or nursing women. 7. Participation in another clinical trial (currently or within the last 30 days) 8. Use of medications that may interfere with the effects of the study medications (any psychiatric medications). 9. fMRI related criteria including: metal implants (clips from operations, cochlea, large red/yellow tattoos in the neck area) 10. Tobacco smoking (\>10 cigarettes/day) 11. Consumption of alcoholic drinks (\>10/week)
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Emotional enhancement as determined by fMRI | 12 hours | Emotional enhancement (empathy, oxytocin, mood perception, fMRI amygdala blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) signal reactivity to fearful stimuli) |
| fMRI brain activity | 1 hour | Associations between subjective effects/alterations in emotion processing with fMRI amygdala BOLD activity |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Resting State fMRI | 1 hour | Association between emotional enhancement and resting state fMRI neuronal activity |
| Effect Modulation by personality traits (assessed with questionnaires), | 12 hours | Effect modulation by personality traits (assessed with questionnaires), baseline amygdala reactivity to fear in the fMRI, and genetic polymorphisms determined by genotyping of each subject |
| Effect Modulation by amygdala reactivity to fear (assessed in the fMRI) | 12 hours | Effect modulation by personality traits (assessed with questionnaires), baseline amygdala reactivity to fear in the fMRI, and genetic polymorphisms determined by genotyping of each subject |
| Effect Modulation by genetic polymorphisms (determined by genotyping of each subject) | 12 hours | Effect modulation by personality traits (assessed with questionnaires), baseline amygdala reactivity to fear in the fMRI, and genetic polymorphisms determined by genotyping of each subject |
Countries
Switzerland
Outcome results
None listed