The Effect of Ketamine on Aesthetics and Role for Antidepressant Effects

April 11, 2024 updated by: Rupert Lanzenberger, Medical University of Vienna

Unraveling the Aesthetic Mind in Anhedonia, Insights From Pharmacological Imaging of the Human Brain: A Single-blind, Randomized, Placebo-controlled Cross-over Study

The aim of this study is to assess the impact of ketamine on aesthetic perception and processing. This study assesses the role of these effects in facilitating ketamine's antidepressant properties, with a focus on anhedonia. To address this aim, 25 patients with major depressive disorder and 35 healthy controls will be assessed twice with magnetic resonance imaging, once after administration of intravenous ketamine (subanesthetic dose) and once after administration of placebo.This study has a single-center, placebo-controlled, cross-over study design. During MRI, structural, resting state, and functional imaging will be performed. Functional imaging will comprise aesthetic processing, reward, and sexual arousal paradigms. In addition, various neuropsychological scales assessing depressive symptoms, anhedonia, and aesthetic processing will be performed. Eligibility for participation will be assessed during a screening visit, a follow up visit will end study participation.

Study Overview

Status

Status

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

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

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
60

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 1

Contacts and Locations

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

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Locations

  • Austria
      • Vienna, Austria, 1090
        • Recruiting
        • Medical University of Vienna
        • Contact:
          • Rupert Lanzenberger, MD

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

18 years to 55 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • General health based on medical history and physical examination
  • Psychiatric health based on structured clinical interview for DSM-5 (SCID) for healthy controls
  • Major depressive episode (first or recurrent) based on structured clinical interview for DSM-5 and ICD-10 for patients
  • Age 18 to 55 years
  • Right-handedness (due to potential lateralization effects of lefthanded subjects)
  • Willingness and competence to sign the informed consent form

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Current or history of neurological disease
  • Current medical illness requiring treatment
  • Psychiatric diagnosis for healthy individuals
  • Psychiatric comorbidity with the exception of anxiety disorders for depressed individuals
  • Pregnancy or current breastfeeding
  • Current or former substance abuse
  • Previous ketamine use in lifetime
  • Any contraindication for MRI (e.g., MR incompatible implants, etc.) including dental implants causing signal artifacts
  • Failure to comply with the study protocol or to follow the instruction of the investigating team

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: Basic Science
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
  • Masking: Single

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: Ketamine first, then placebo
0.5mg/kg bodyweight (or 0.25mg/kg bodyweight) ketamine, will be determined in pilot study, then placebo
Drug: Placebo
0.9% NaCl
Drug: Ketamine
0.5mg/kg bodyweight (or 0.25mg/kg bodyweight) ketamine, will be determined in pilot study
Experimental: Placebo frist, then ketamine
0.9% NaCl, then ketamine
Drug: Placebo
0.9% NaCl
Drug: Ketamine
0.5mg/kg bodyweight (or 0.25mg/kg bodyweight) ketamine, will be determined in pilot study

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
BOLD signal assessed with fMRI during aesthetic paradigm
Time Frame: Change from baseline to up to 4 weeks
Difference in Blood Oxygen Level Dependent (BOLD) signal assessed with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) between ketamine and placebo condition during an aesthetic processing task
Change from baseline to up to 4 weeks
BOLD signal assessed with fMRI during reward paradigm
Time Frame: Change from baseline to up to 4 weeks
Difference in Blood Oxygen Level Dependent (BOLD) signal assessed with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) between ketamine and placebo condition during a reward processing task
Change from baseline to up to 4 weeks
BOLD signal assessed with fMRI during sexual arousal paradigm
Time Frame: Change from baseline to up to 4 weeks
Difference in Blood Oxygen Level Dependent (BOLD) signal assessed with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) between ketamine and placebo condition during a sexual arousal paradigm
Change from baseline to up to 4 weeks
Levels of pleasantness assessed during aesthetic fMRI task
Time Frame: Change from baseline to up to 4 weeks
Level of pleasantness (Numbered scale) of aesthetic stimuli during aesthetic paradigm task
Change from baseline to up to 4 weeks
Number of of chills assessed during aesthetic fMRI task
Time Frame: Change from baseline to up to 4 weeks
Number of chills in response to aesthetic stimuli during aesthetic paradigm task
Change from baseline to up to 4 weeks
BOLD signal assessed with fMRI during resting state
Time Frame: Change from baseline to up to 4 weeks
Difference in Blood Oxygen Level Dependent (BOLD) signal assessed with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) between ketamine and placebo condition during resting state
Change from baseline to up to 4 weeks

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.
Medical University of Vienna

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 (Actual)

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.
June 1, 2022

Primary Completion (Estimated)

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.
February 28, 2025

Study Completion (Estimated)

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.
February 28, 2025

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).
February 26, 2022

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.
April 8, 2022

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.
April 11, 2022

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimated)

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.
April 15, 2024

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.
April 11, 2024

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.
April 1, 2024

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.
  • PSY-NIL-0010

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

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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