The Effects of D-cycloserine on Stimulus Generalization of Conditioned Fear Healthy Controls.

Completed · Has a placebo group

Conditions studied: Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome

In brief

PROJECT SUMMARY: PTSD is a debilitating psychiatric condition precipitated by exposure to extreme, or life threatening, trauma with an estimated lifetime prevalence between 8% and 9% in U.S. adults. One core symptom of PTSD is intense psychological distress in the presence of stimuli that "resemble" one or more aspects of the trauma experience (DSM-IV). This phenomenon referred to as stimulus generalization has received surprisingly little empirical testing in the context of clinical anxiety in general, and PTSD more specifically. The current proposal represents the first effort to study the neurobiology and pharmacology of this PTSD-relevant learning phenomenon across those with and without PTSD. The objective of this particular proposal is to apply fMRI and pharmacologic methods to: 1) identify brain mechanisms associated with generalization of conditioned fear and 2) examine the pharmacologic modifiability of levels of generalization using a partial agonist at the NMDA receptor complex (D-cycloserine) shown to increase discrimination of CS+ (danger cue) and CS- (safety cue) in animal studies.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT01733030

Run by

University of Minnesota

People needed

56

Starts

2013-01-01

Expected to finish

2015-10-01

Last updated by the study team

2017-05-04

Who can join

Age: 18 and older, up to 55. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: accepted.

You may qualify if…

• Healthy adults between the ages of 18-55.

You may not qualify if…

• Current or past Axis I psychiatric diagnosis as determined by self report
• Current substance dependence or meet criteria for the six month period preceding testing.
• Participants will be excluded if they have current or past medical illnesses, which place the participant at risk or confound the results of the study including:
• A) Past history of hypersensitivity to Seromycin B) Current or past epileptic disorders C) Current depression D) Current anxiety disorders E) Current or past psychotic disorders F) Current or past renal disease G) Excessive or concurrent use of alcohol
• a) Subjects who are unable to abstain from alcohol for 12 hours prior to testing and 2 days following testing will be excluded
• Current use of psychoactive medications or medications that alter central-nervous-system function
• Females who are pregnant or currently breast-feeding
• Any metallic implants or objects above the knee, tattoos about the knee, or oral braces.

Where it is running

• University of MInnesota — Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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