Neuroimaging Mechanisms by Which Memory and Glucocorticoids Promote Risky Drinking

Early Phase 1CompletedNCT04896489

Yale University27 enrolled

Overview

The purpose of this study is to determine whether hydrocortisone biases formation of alcohol-related memories to potentiate drinking.

This study aims to 1) Characterize the effect of elevated glucocorticoids during encoding on long-term memory for alcohol-related information; 2) Identify the neural mechanisms by which glucocorticoids influence encoding of alcohol-related experiences; and 3) Determine how glucocorticoid modulation of alcohol-related encoding relates to drinking after retrieving alcohol-related memories.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

BASIC_SCIENCE

Masking

TRIPLE

Enrollment

Conditions

Alcohol Drinking Drinking Behavior Episodic Memory Long-term Memory

Interventions

Hydrocortisone 20 MGDRUG

Participants receive Hydrocortisone 20 MG

PlaceboOTHER

Participants receive placebo

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 21 YearsMax age: 45 YearsHealthy volunteers:

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * Able to read and write English * BMI 18-35 * Beer drinking Exclusion Criteria: * Meet current criteria for any substance use disorder, excluding caffeine * Current significant medical conditions or psychiatric symptoms requiring medication * Current use of medications/drugs that interfere with the HPA axis response * Peri and post-menopausal women, pregnant or lactating women, and those with hysterectomies * Metal in body (for MRI safety) * Systemic fungal infections (contraindication for hydrocortisone) * Known hypersensitivity to components of hydrocortisone tablets (hydrocortisone, calcium stearate, corn starch, lactose, mineral oil, sorbic acid, sucrose)

Locations (1)

Yale University

New Haven, Connecticut, United States

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Changes fMRI signal

Changes in fMRI signal at encoding will be assessed over an hour long period.

Time frame: 1 hour

Item memory

Item memory will be assessed through performance on delayed memory assessments. Item memory is determined by the accuracy of memory for individual items and will be expressed as dprime.

Time frame: Up to 90 minutes

Context memory

Context memory will be assessed through performance on delayed memory assessments. Context memory is determined by the accuracy of memory for associated contexts and will be expressed as % correct.

Time frame: Up to 90 minutes

Affect memory

Affect memory will be assessed through performance on delayed memory assessments. Affect memory is determined by subjective ratings of vividness (1-4), change in ratings from encoding to retrieval of memory (0-3). The score is averaged where a higher score indicates greater affect.

Time frame: Up to 90 minutes

Secondary Outcomes

Alcohol motivation

Performance on alcohol taste test following memory retrieval will be assessed using the Alcohol Taste Test (ATT). The test asks participants to taste the alcohol in each two containers to identify whether the alcohol was the same or different. The % correct is used to assess this outcome.

Time frame: 10 minutes

Affect - Negative

Self-reported measures of emotional state following drug administration and memory retrieval using the PANAS. The negative subscale of the PANAS will be used and has a range of 10-50. Higher scores indicate higher negative affect.

Time frame: 10 minutes

Data from ClinicalTrials.gov

This platform is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional.