Oxytocin, Lorazepam, Anti-Anxiety Agents, Physiological Effects of Drugs
Conditions
Keywords
Amygdala, anxiety, benzodiazepines, fear, fMRI, lorazepam, oxytocin, 7 Tesla
Brief summary
High-potency benzodiazepines have strong anxiolytic effects accompanied by significant adverse effects including impaired cognitive function, drowsiness, dizziness and impaired motoric abilities. Importantly, the long-term use of benzodiazepines may produce dependence and withdrawal. Therefore, there is considerable scientific and public interest in identifying new anxiolytic agents. The hypothalamic peptide oxytocin (OXT) has anxiolytic effects both in healthy participants and patients with anxiety disorders by decreasing fear-associated amygdala activity. However, so far no human study has directly compared the underlying anxiolytic mechanisms of OXT and established anxiolytic agents on amygdala activity. Importantly, the amygdala is not a homogenous structure but rather consists of several subdivisions with structural and functional differences. Therefore, the rationale of the present project is to determine the effects of intranasal OXT and the high-potency benzodiazepine lorazepam on fear-associated responses in intra-amygdalar subregions.
Interventions
DRUGOxytocin
Intranasal administration, 24 international units (IU) oxytocin
DRUGLorazepam 1 mg
Oral administration of 1mg lorazepam
The placebo nasalspray contain identical ingredients except for the active agent itself.
DRUGPlacebo Oral Tablet
The placebo pill contain identical ingredients except for the active agent itself.
Sponsors
University Hospital, Bonn
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
TRIPLE (Subject, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
MALE
Age
18 Years to 40 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* healthy male volunteers * right-handed
Exclusion criteria
* Current or past psychiatric illness * Current or past physical illness * Psychoactive medication * Sedative medication * MRI contraindication (e.g. metal in body, claustrophobia)
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Neural responses to emotional faces in the amygdala subregions | Neural activations with be measured with 7 Tesla fMRI in an emotional face matching task that lasts 20 mins | Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) will be performed to measure blood-oxygen-level dependent signal in response to emotional face stimuli. The investigators specifically plan to investigate amygdala subregion responses to emotional faces. |
Countries
Germany
Outcome results
None listed