The Effect of Intravenous Anesthetics on Fear Learning and Memory

NCT00767767 | Completed Results

• 2 other identifiers: 0710009434K08GM083213
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 67
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

People often develop fearful responses to things, but have no conscious control over the fear. This is a basic form of unconscious memory, called "fear conditioning." Intravenous anesthetic drugs have remarkable effects on conscious memory, but it is unknown whether they have similar effects on these unconscious fear memories. To address this question, the investigators will study 114 healthy adult volunteer subjects. The subject is given a very low dose of an anesthetic drug intravenously (i.e. through the bloodstream). The dose is so low that the subject might not even be able tell if they are getting the drug. While they are receiving the drug, the subject will perform a series of memory tests and a fear conditioning experiment, which are set up like a very simple computer game. To create the "fear response", subjects will occasionally receive a mildly uncomfortable shock to their arm. The subject is able to determine the highest level of shock that they will receive. The investigators are doing this study because the investigators wish to know exactly how the drugs affect the way people process fear and emotion. This knowledge might one day be used in the treatment of some psychiatric disorders.

Conditions

Phobias

Keywords

anesthetic drugs, associative memory, fear

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• GSR Trial 1

  Galvanic skin repose (GSR) to the first habituation trial (yes/no). Coding: Yes (0) and No (1)

  First Trial, for up to 1 day

Study Arms (5)

Placebos

PLACEBO COMPARATOR

Saline Infusion

Drug: Placebos

Propofol 0.45mcg/mL

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Anesthetic Drug Infusion

Drug: Propofol 0.45mcg/mL

Propofol 0.90mcg/mL

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Anesthetic Drug Infusion

Drug: Propofol 0.90mcg/mL

Thiopental 1.5mcg/mL

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Anesthetic Drug Infusion

Drug: Thiopental 1.5mcg/mL

Thiopental 3mcg/mL

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Anesthetic Drug Infusion

Drug: Thiopental 3mcg/mL

Interventions

Placebos DRUG

IV Saline infusion for 2 hours.

Placebos

Propofol 0.45mcg/mL DRUG

IV Propofol infusion for 2 hours.

Also known as: Propofol

Propofol 0.45mcg/mL

Propofol 0.90mcg/mL DRUG

IV Propofol infusion for 2 hours.

Also known as: Propofol

Propofol 0.90mcg/mL

Thiopental 1.5mcg/mL DRUG

IV Thiopental 1.5mcg/mL infusion for 2 hours

Also known as: Thiopental

Thiopental 1.5mcg/mL

Thiopental 3mcg/mL DRUG

IV Thiopental 3mcg/mL infusion for 2 hours

Also known as: Thiopental

Thiopental 3mcg/mL

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 50 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• age between 18 and 50
• minimum of high school education
• fluent in English
• normal vocabulary

You may not qualify if:

• any significant medical or psychiatric comorbidity (e.g. asthma, diabetes, hypertension, depression, high anxiety)--subjects must be in excellent health such that they would be classified as American Society of Anesthesiologists Physical Status Class I
• deficit in vision or hearing that would impede the study
• allergies to any of the study drugs, to soybeans, or to eggs
• a history of head trauma
• a family history of major psychiatric illness
• body mass index \> 30 kg/m2
• a recent history of recreational drug use
• prior exposure to the study materials
• pregnancy
• a personal or family history of any porphyria
• failure to exhibit a skin conductance response to deep inspiration
• the ability to read Chinese characters
• assessment by the investigators that the subject may be unable to cooperate or comply with the study requirements.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Weill Medical College of Cornell University: lead
• National Institutes of Health (NIH): collaborator
• National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS): collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Weill Cornell Medical College/New York Presbyterian Hospital

New York, New York, 10065, United States

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Phobic Disorders

Interventions

Propofol; Thiopental

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Anxiety Disorders; Mental Disorders

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Phenols; Benzene Derivatives; Hydrocarbons, Aromatic; Hydrocarbons, Cyclic; Hydrocarbons; Organic Chemicals; Thiobarbiturates; Barbiturates; Pyrimidinones; Pyrimidines; Heterocyclic Compounds, 1-Ring; Heterocyclic Compounds

Results Point of Contact

• Title: Kane Pryor
• Organization: Weill Cornell Medicine

kap9009@med.cornell.edu

(212) 746-2969

Study Officials

• Kane Pryor, MD

  Weill Medical College of Cornell University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Publication Agreements

• PI is Sponsor Employee: Yes

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT
• Purpose: BASIC SCIENCE
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: October 3, 2008
• First Posted: October 7, 2008
• Study Start: October 1, 2008
• Primary Completion: May 1, 2011
• Study Completion: May 1, 2011
• Last Updated: May 15, 2019
• Results First Posted: April 10, 2017

Record last verified: 2019-04

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (1)