The purpose of this study is to better understand mental illness and will test the hypotheses that, while viewing affective stimuli, patient groups will show increased blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) signal by fMRI after lorazepam. This study will enroll participants between the ages of 16 and 60, who have a psychotic illness (such as psychosis which includes conditions like schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, and mood disorders like bipolar disorder). The study will also enroll eligible participants between the ages of 18 and 60 without any psychiatric illness to compare their brains. The study will require participants to have 3-4 sessions over a few weeks. The initial assessments (may be over two visits) will include a diagnostic interview and several questionnaires (qols) to assess eligibility. Subsequently, there will be two separate functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) sessions in which lorazepam or placebo will be given prior to the fMRI. During the fMRI, the participants will also be asked to answer questions. Additionally, the participants will have their blood drawn, vital signs will be taken, they will be asked to complete more qols, and women of childbearing potential will have a urine pregnancy test.
* Please note the collaborator (NIMH) is requesting that an NCT number be obtained prior to receiving the award number. * Initial assessment(s) may be done via videoconference due to Covid.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
DOUBLE
Enrollment
143
There will be two fMRIs done after the initial assessment and approximately 28 days apart. Females may need to have this scheduled to coincide with a certain phase of their menstrual cycle. A dose of Placebo will be given approximately 80-90 minutes prior to entering the fMRI scanner. Participants will complete assessments (vitals, questionnaires) and an optional blood draw prior to having each fMRI. Participants will be asked to rate pleasant/unpleasant pictures during their initial assessment visit and to view them during the fMRI.
There will be two fMRIs done after the initial assessment and approximately 28 days apart. Females may need to have this scheduled to coincide with a certain phase of their menstrual cycle. A dose of Lorazepam (assigned to one of two dose levels between subjects: 0.01 mg/kg or 0.02 mg/kg) will be given approximately 80-90 minutes prior to entering the fMRI scanner. Participants will complete assessments (vitals, questionnaires) and optional blood draw prior to having each fMRI. Participants will be asked to rate pleasant/unpleasant pictures during their initial assessment visit and to view them during the fMRI.
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States
Blood Oxygen Level Dependent (BOLD) Change in Medial Frontal Cortex While Viewing Affective Pictures
Change in brain activity in the medial frontal cortex after being given lorazepam, a medication that changes the activity of GABAergic neurons. Results reflect the difference/change in brain signal between the lorazepam scan and the placebo scan. BOLD change in the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) was summarized using MATLAB (MatrixLaboratory)'s SPM (Statistical Parametric Mapping) package for eigenvariate extraction, which extracts the first principal component of the voxel time series within an region of interest (ROI). The resulting values are in arbitrary units (AU) reflecting variance-normalized signal after temporal filtering and serial correlation correction, which removes absolute signal scaling. While AU values are not directly interpretable as percent signal change, they preserve relative differences in BOLD change across conditions and are appropriate for statistical comparison.
Time frame: Approximately 28 days
This platform is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional.