fundamental cognitive neuroscience research of memory consolidation and retention with possible future implications in psychopharmacy and treatment for patients with memory deficits long-term memory memory consolidation
Conditions
Interventions
Subjects will receive an oral capsule of 20mg MPH or placebo. These can be
administered safely without any relevant risk of serious adverse events
((S)AEs) and have been approved for clinical use in
Sponsors
Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen
Eligibility
Age
18 Years to 99 Years
Inclusion criteria
Inclusion criteria: Healthy right-handed male volunteers between 18 and 35 of age. Normal or corrected-to-normal vision and willingness and ability to sign informed consent
Exclusion criteria
Exclusion criteria: • (History of) psychiatric treatment • (History of) neurological treatment • (History of) endocrine treatment • (History of) autonomic failure (e.g., vasovagal reflex syncope). • (History of) clinically significant hepatic, cardiac, obstructive respiratory, renal, cerebrovascular, metabolic or pulmonary disease • Family history of sudden death or ventricular arrhythmia • (History of) epilepsy • (History of) drug dependence (opiate, LSD, (meth)amphetamine, cocaine, solvents, or barbiturate) or alcohol dependence • Family history of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder • Current or past use of psychotropic medication • Regular use of corticosteroids. • Suicidality • Diabetes • Uncontrolled hypertension, defined as diastolic blood pressure at rest > 95 mmHg or systolic blood pressure at rest > 180 mmHg • Hypotension, defined as diastolic blood pressure
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| 1) Memory retention on the associative memory task At behavioural level, the primary study measure is memory performance, quantified as the number of correctly learned associative memories and measured directly at the end of the learning task (Test 1 on Day 1) and on the second testing day to check long-term memory performance (Test 2 on Day 2). The main study parameter is the comparison of memory retention (i.e., the difference in memory performance between Test 1 and 2) between the MPH and placebo group to test if modulation of catecholamines affects memory retention 2) At neural level, the primary study parameters are activation and functional connectivity during memory retrieval on the second study day, to test if modulation of catecholamines is associated with between-group differences in neural responses to memory retrieval, potentially explaining the behavioral differences. Furthermore, we will investigate functional connectivity during resting-state of the MTL and mPFC with each other and with other (neo)cortical regions. | — |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| The outcome on three questionnaires will be used as baseline measures of impulsivity and possible ADHD symptoms. In addition, the outcome of the Daneman and Carpenter listening span test will be used as a baseline estimate of working memory capacity, which has been found to be a valid surrogate measure of catecholamine levels at baseline | — |
Countries
Netherlands
Outcome results
None listed