Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Conditions
Interventions
To investigate the role of the endocannabinoid system in fear memory extinction
and stress adaption, we will use established behavioral and neuroimaging
paradigms including (1) a classical fear cond
Sponsors
Radboud Universitair Medisch Centrum
Eligibility
Age
18 Years to 99 Years
Inclusion criteria
Inclusion criteria: In each substudy, in order to be eligible to participate in this study, a participant must meet all of the following criteria: For both groups: * Healthy volunteers between 18 and 45 years of age. * Predominant right-handedness. * For substudy 2 only: History of taking cannabis. For ELS group: * Meet the criteria for ELS as measured using the self-report questionnaire *Maltreatment and Abuse Chronology of Exposure Scale (MACE-X)*. There are 10 subscales in MACE-X, the criterion for each subscale is listed below. * In the emotional neglect subscale, the cut-off is 2 items out of 5. * In the parental non-verbal abuse subscale, the cut-off is 4 out of 6. * In the parental physical maltreatment subscale, the cut-off is 4 items. * In the parental verbal abuse subscale, the cut-off is 3 items out of 4. * In the sexual abuse subscale, the cut-off is 2 items out of 7. * In the witnessing interparental violence subscale, the cut-off is 2 items out of 5. * In the peer verbal abuse subscale, the cut-off is 4 items out of 5. * In the peer physical bullying subscale, the cut-off is 2 items out of 5. * In the physical neglect, the cut-off is 2 items out of 5. * In the witnessing violence to siblings subscale, the cut-off is 1 items out of 4. We will include people a) who meet the criterion on any single subscale, while only counting items under age of ten, or b) who meet the criteria on multiple subscales regardless of age, when the sum of percentages of the cut-offs reached below the age of ten for each of these subscales equals or exceeds 100. For instance, if a potential participant scores 2 item on the sexual abuse subscale, of which 1 is below the age of 10, and scores 5 on the verbal abuse subscale, of which 3 are below the age of ten, then this participant would be included because (1/2) *100 + (3/4) *100 <= 125. * For Non-ELS group: We aim to recruit participants in the control group with no experiences of ELS. The MACE-X has six subscales which are indicate severe childhood maltreatment: Emotional Neglect, Parental Nonverbal Emotional Abuse, Parental Physical Maltreatment, Parental Verbal Abuse, Sexual Abuse, or Witnessing Interparental Violence. The criterion for each of these subscales is listed below. * In the emotional neglect subscale, the cut-off is 2 items out of 5. * In the parental non-verbal abuse subscale, the cut-off is 4 out of 6. * In the parental physical maltreatment subscale, the cut-off is 4 items. * In the parental verbal abuse subscale, the cut-off is 3 items out of 4. * In the sexual abuse subscale, the cut-off is 2 items out of 7. * In the witnessing interparental violence subscale, the cut-off is 2 items out of 5. And four subscales which are less relevant to severe childhood maltreatment. The criterion for each of these subscales is listed below. * In the peer verbal abuse subscale, the cut-off is 4 items out of 5. * In the peer physical bullying subscale, the cut-off is 2 items out of 5. * In the physical neglect, the cut-off is 2 items out of 5. * In the witnessing violence to siblings subscale, the cut-off is 1 items out of 4 We will include people into the control group who a) score 0 on the six subscales most relevant to severe childhood maltreatment (SCM) listed above, and b) score below the cut-off o
Exclusion criteria
Exclusion criteria: In each study, a potential subject who meets any of the following criteria will be excluded from participation in this study: For both groups: * Body mass index lower than 18.5 or higher than 30. * Abnormal hearing or (uncorrected) vision. * Average use of psychotropic medication or recreational drugs weekly or more. * Habitual smoking, i.e. more than a package of cigarettes per week and a self-reported inability or unease to cease smoking for 24 hours prior to testing. * Use of psychotropic medication, or of recreational drugs over a period of one week prior to each test session, and use of alcohol within the last 24 hours before each measurement. * Regular use of corticosteroids. * Current psychiatric treatment. (e.g., severe depression, anorexia nervosa, severe mood disorders, mania, schizophrenia or borderline personality disorder) * Current neurological treatment. * Current endocrine treatment. (e.g., phechromocytoma, hyperthyroidism, Cushing*s syndrome) * Contraindication for systemic hydrocortisone (e.g., ulcus ventriculi, ulcus duodeni, certain infections, and eye problems that point toward a risk (closed-angle) glaucoma). * History of repeated (more than once) of autonomic failure (e.g., vasovagal reflex syncope). * Contraindications for MRI scanning (e.g., pacemaker, implanted metal parts, deep brain stimulation, claustrophobia) * Metal objects in or around the body (braces, pacemaker, metal fragments, hearing devices). * Use of medication that may interact with hydrocortisone (study 1) or THC (study 2). E.g., for Hydrocortisone, e.g., taking taking mifepristone within one week before and during the study period is reason for exclusion. For THC, taking rifampicin, ketoconazole, and omeprazole will not be allowed within one week before and during the study period. * Cognitive impairment (MMSE
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| autonomic nervous system measurement (skin conductance, heart rate, and pupil dilation responses) and subjective scores on 5-point scale to rate the expectancy of the appearance of the unconditioned stimuli (USs) to fear-conditioned stimuli one day after extinction (i.e., safety learning). | — |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Neuroimaging data (founctional and structural neuro images), chemical data (in saliva, and in blood),self-report questionnaires | — |
Countries
Netherlands
Outcome results
None listed