Oxytocin on Approach Bias and Craving

June 1, 2022 updated by: Jennifer Mitchell

The Effects of Intranasal Oxytocin on Approach Bias and Craving in Moderate to Heavy Alcohol Drinkers

This will be a laboratory-based investigation of the behavioral and neural effects of intranasal oxytocin on craving for alcohol and approach bias in moderate to heavy alcohol using subjects. This study uses a within-subject, randomized, placebo-controlled, counterbalanced, crossover design to compare the effects oxytocin and placebo. In this way, all subjects will be scanned twice; once following oxytocin administration and once following placebo administration, and will complete a series of behavioral tasks (both in and out of the scanner) at both visits.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Withdrawn

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Phase 2

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • California
      • Berkeley, California, United States, 94720
        • University of California, San Francisco

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

21 years to 40 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Healthy volunteers who are 21-40 years of age
  • If female, 10 or more alcoholic drinks must be consumed weekly.
  • If male, 14 or more alcoholic drinks must be consumed weekly.
  • Meets DSM-V criteria for Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD).
  • Score 8 or greater on the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT)
  • If female, must be non-lactating, not pregnant, and using a reliable contraception method (i.e. abstinence, intrauterine device [IUD], hormonal birth control, or barrier method).
  • Native English speaker
  • Right handed
  • High school graduate or equivalent.
  • Able and willing to provide an informed consent.
  • Able to understand and follow the instructions of the investigator

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Positive urine drug screen (except marijuana).
  • Using cocaine, stimulants (other than nicotine and caffeine), amphetamines, hallucinogens, ecstasy, opiates, sedatives, pain pills, sleeping pills, or other psychoactive drugs within 2 weeks of the start of the study (except marijuana).
  • Marijuana use more than 3 times/week.
  • Current enrollment in an alcohol, or other drug treatment program or current legal problems relating to alcohol, or other drug use.
  • Currently trying to quit alcohol use.
  • History of major alcohol related complications within the preceding 2 years (liver failure/cirrhosis, pancreatitis, esophageal varices, etc.).
  • Has a history of atrophic rhinitis, recurrent nose bleeds, cranial surgical procedures, hypophysectomy, chronic congestion, or sinus problems.
  • Has a history of cardiac arrhythmia.
  • Clinically significant medical or psychiatric illness requiring treatment as determined by screening blood tests, medical history, and/or physical exam performed or reviewed by the study physician.
  • Severely low blood (< 90/50) pressure or uncontrolled high blood pressure (>160/100).
  • SGPT/ALT or SGOT/AST values greater than 2x upper limit of normal.
  • BAC level > 0.00% at the beginning of screening visit (within margin of error of detection).
  • Has a neurological dysfunction or psychiatric disorder (confirm with study physician).
  • Has a history of brain trauma (confirm with study physician).
  • Has an allergy or intolerance to oxytocin.
  • Has received an investigational drug within 30 days of Screening Visit.
  • Has any MRI scanning contraindications.
  • Has a history of claustrophobia.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
  • Masking: Quadruple

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Oxytocin First
Subjects will receive oxytocin prior to their first scanning session, and placebo prior to their second scanning session.
Drug: Placebo
Placebo
Drug: Oxytocin
intranasal oxytocin 40IU/mL
Other Names:
  • Syntocinon
Experimental: Placebo First
Subjects will receive placebo prior to their first scanning session, and oxytocin prior to their second scanning session.
Drug: Placebo
Placebo
Drug: Oxytocin
intranasal oxytocin 40IU/mL
Other Names:
  • Syntocinon

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Alcohol cue craving score
Time Frame: ~ 90 minutes post study drug administration
Subjects will be asked to perform a standardized alcohol cue exposure paradigm and be asked to rate their subjective craving following alcohol cue presentation using a standard visual analog scale. Craving scores (ranging from 1-10 on VAS) will be compared across both the active study drug and placebo.
~ 90 minutes post study drug administration
Image approach task
Time Frame: ~ 90 minutes post study drug administration
Subjects will be asked to perform an image approach task where subjects are presented with a series of images and asked to pull or push a joystick following each presentation. Response direction and speed are recorded and compared across both the active study drug and placebo.
~ 90 minutes post study drug administration

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Jennifer Mitchell

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Jennifer Mitchell, PhD, University of California, San Francisco

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Anticipated)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
November 1, 2023

Primary Completion (Anticipated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
April 20, 2024

Study Completion (Anticipated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
April 20, 2024

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
December 21, 2018

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
March 5, 2019

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
March 7, 2019

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
June 6, 2022

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
June 1, 2022

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
June 1, 2022

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • Oxytocin Approach

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

Yes

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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