Mood, Serotonin and Social Interaction

Early Phase 1CompletedNCT02051530

University of Groningen40 enrolled

Overview

Rationale: Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a psychiatric disorder whose onset, severity, and duration are influenced by interpersonal factors. The serotonin system is known to influence MDD risk. Recent research has suggested that serotonin may also play a role in regulating social behaviour. Therefore, it would be interesting to study the role of serotonin in responses to social stimuli in individuals at risk for MDD. Objective: This project aims to study how changes in serotonin alter interpersonal functioning in adults with or without a first degree family member diagnosed with MDD. The primary goal is to investigate the effect of experimentally lowered brain serotonin levels on empathic accuracy. Secondary goals are to determine how this manipulation influences verbal and non-verbal communication, cardiovascular function in a social context, and mood. An exploratory goal is to investigate how these outcomes are related to genes thought to be involved in MDD.

see summary

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

BASIC_SCIENCE

Masking

DOUBLE

Enrollment

Conditions

Mood Social Behavior

Interventions

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 18 YearsMax age: 65 YearsHealthy volunteers:

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * Age 18 to 65 yrs * At least one first-degree family member with MDD, Family History (FH) positive, or no first and -second degree family members with MDD, FH negative * Willingness to cooperate, to sign written informed consent Exclusion Criteria: * Any current or past Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) IV Axis I mood disorder, anxiety disorder, psychotic disorder, eating disorder, or somatoform disorder as determined by Structured Clinical Interview for DSM interview * Any current substance use disorder * Any past substance dependence * Ongoing medical treatment for a chronic disease, particularly cancer, gastrointestinal disease, phenylketonuria, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, or disease of the liver or kidneys * Not speaking Dutch fluently * Current or past use of neuroleptics, sedative drugs, antidepressants etc. * On test days, a positive urine test for drugs of abuse * For women, initiation of hormonal contraceptive treatments 3 months prior to screening, or a positive urine test for pregnancy on test days

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Empathic Accuracy

Empathic Accuracy is assessed with a computer task, approximately 6 hrs after completion of the amino acid mixture

Time frame: 45 minutes

Secondary Outcomes

Behavioral mimicry

Behavioral mimicry is assessed in two experiments. In the first experiment, mimicry of a person in a video is assessed. In a second experiment mimicry is assessed in response to the investigators mannerisms

Time frame: 10 minutes

Emotional Prosody (EP)

EP is assessed in two experiments. In the first experiment, EP is assessed in response to a video. In a second experiment EP is assessed in a dyad with the investigator.

Time frame: 10 minutes

blood

blood is analysed for levels of tryptophan, oxytocin and cortisol

Time frame: 10 minutes

heart rate variability

hrv is measured in response to emotional video clips

Time frame: 1 hour

Mood, Serotonin and Social Interaction

Overview

Conditions

Interventions

Eligibility

Locations (1)

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes