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Completed

NCT Number: NCT03050541

Effects of MDMA on Emotional and Social Memories

The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of MDMA on encoding and retrieval of emotional and social memories in healthy young adults. The study will explore the effects on memory retrieval when the drug is administered 1) before encoding, and 2) before retrieval.

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Key information

Conditions

Healthy

Age range

18 year–40 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

About this study

Here, we aim to investigate the effects of MDMA (1 mg/kg) on the encoding and retrieval of positive, negative, social, and neutral memories. The study will use a between subjects design with three groups (N = 20 per group). Two of the groups will be randomly assigned to receive MDMA before one of the two stages of memory: Encoding (ENC) or Retrieval (RET). The third group will receive placebo only (PLC). All three groups will receive capsules before viewing the study materials, and at retrieval two days later, but they will receive MDMA only in the capsule appropriate to their condition, and other capsules will contain placebo.

Participants will participate in two sessions: a viewing session during which they will view emotional and neutral stimuli, followed 48 hours later by a retrieval session, during which there will be a surprise memory test with two components (verbally cued recollection and picture recognition). On all sessions subjects will also complete mood questionnaires.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Normal healthy males and females, aged 18-40 years.

Exclusion criteria

  • any current medical condition requiring medication or abnormal electrocardiogram
  • current or past medical condition considered to be a contraindication for the study conditions
  • any current Axis I psychiatric disorder (APA, 1994) including Substance Use Disorder, or Anxiety Disorder or Major Depression in the past year, any history of psychosis
  • less than high school education
  • lack of fluency in English
  • night shift work
  • pregnancy, lactation, or plans to become pregnant
  • use of hormonal contraception

Treatment and study plan

MDMA

Drug

This is a between subjects, double-blind, placebo controlled design. We are administering oral MDMA to healthy volunteers to measure its effects on the encoding, consolidation, and retrieval stages of memory.

Placebo

Drug

Primary outcomes

  1. Probability of Accurately Recalling Visual Stimuli

    Time frame: 90 minutes into Session 2

    During encoding, participants were presented with labels that were sometimes followed by pictures. During the first memory test, participant were presented again with all of the labels and asked, "Did you see this picture?" Hit and false alarm rates were then calculated, and memory accuracy was measured by hits minus false alarms.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Probability of Accurately Recognizing Visual Stimuli

    Time frame: 90 minutes into Session 2

    After the cued recollection task, all of the pictures were presented to participants (i.e., the ones that they had seen, as well as the ones that were not seen). Participants were then asked, "Did you see this picture?" Hit and false alarm rates were calculated, and memory accuracy was measured as hits minus false alarms.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

University of Chicago

Other

Registry information

Official study title

The Effects of 3,4-methylenedioxy-N-methylamphetamine (MDMA) on Encoding, Consolidation, and Retrieval of Emotional and Social Memories

Important dates

Study start
2014
Primary completion
2016
Study completion
2016
First posted
Feb 13, 2017
Registry last updated
Jun 29, 2018

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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