The purpose of the study is to evaluate the effects of a single-dose of Wellbutrin XL (bupropion hydrochloride) on reward processing.
A cardinal feature of Major Depressive Disorder is anhedonia, which is a lack of pleasure in normally enjoyable activities. In order to understand reward processing in depressed individuals it is also necessary to study reward processing in people who are not depressed. Bupropion, the active drug in the anti-depressant Wellbutrin XL, has been shown to increase brain reward functioning in animals. The goal of the present study is to investigate the effects of Wellbutrin XL administered to psychiatrically healthy individuals as they perform a computer task known to assess reward processing.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
DOUBLE
Enrollment
32
The Depression Clinical and Research Program, Massachusetts General Hospital
Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Affective Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Harvard University
Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States
Whether an acute dose of bupropion vs. placebo differentially affects the neurobiology and behavior of reward processing in depressed participants.
Time frame: 1 day
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