Examining the Role of Tolerance on Dose-dependent Effects of Acute THC on Oculomotor and Cognitive Performance

August 12, 2026 updated by: Johns Hopkins University
The purpose of this research is to determine the extent to which oculomotor function accurately detects THC-impairment, if cannabis use experience impacts this detection threshold, and to examine how the oculomotor index corresponds to a measure of sustained attention. A double-blind, placebo-controlled, within-subjects crossover design will be used to examine the dose-effects of THC (0, 5mg, 30mg) on oculomotor performance tasks and a sustained attention task in frequent and infrequent cannabis users. Results from the study will advance the investigators' understanding of the effect of THC and cannabis use frequency on oculomotor function and sustained attention, and will directly inform the validity of the investigators' oculomotor platform for identifying acute THC- induced impairment in frequent and infrequent users.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Not yet 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.
40

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

  • United States
    • Maryland
      • Baltimore, Maryland, United States, 21224
        • Johns Hopkins Behavioral Pharmacology Research Unit

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

  • Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Inclusion criteria: Healthy non-treatment seeking adults (age 18 to 60, N = 40) who report
  • (a) infrequent cannabis use defined as at least one reported use in the past year with a negative THC urine toxicology at baseline, or
  • (b) report frequent cannabis use defined as > 5 days per week for > 1 year with a positive THC urine toxicology at baseline.

These criteria were selected to target individuals with low and high-frequency cannabis use in order to examine the direct effect of tolerance on study outcome measures.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • (1) meet DSM-V criteria for substance use disorders other than tobacco, cannabis, or caffeine,
  • (2) are currently receiving or interested in immediately receiving behavioral treatment or medication for cannabis cessation,
  • (3) current use of any medications that could affect study outcomes,
  • (4) test positive for drugs of abuse (other than cannabis) and/or breath alcohol test at study admission,
  • (5) have a current physical or mental illness judged by the study team to negatively impact participant safety or scientific integrity,
  • (6) are currently pregnant, planning to become pregnant in the next three months or are currently breastfeeding,
  • (7) have a history of clinically significant cardiac arrhythmias or vasospastic disease (e.g. Prinzmetal's angina), or (8) are currently enrolled in another clinical trial or have received any drug as part of a research study within 30 days of study participation.

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: Double

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.
Placebo Comparator: 0 mg THC
Inhaled Cannabis - 0 mg THC
Drug: Cannabis
cannabis with 0, 5, or 30 mg THC will be inhaled via vaporization
Experimental: 5 mg THC
Inhaled cannabis - 5 mg THC
Drug: Cannabis
cannabis with 0, 5, or 30 mg THC will be inhaled via vaporization
Experimental: 30 mg THC
Inhaled cannabis - 30 mg THC
Drug: Cannabis
cannabis with 0, 5, or 30 mg THC will be inhaled via vaporization

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
Commission Errors
Time Frame: pre-administration, post-administration, 2, 4 hours
The Conners Continuous Performance Test (CPT) will be used to assess sustained attention. Commission errors is measured by calculating the number of trials participants incorrectly push the spacebar in the presence of "X" stimulus.
pre-administration, post-administration, 2, 4 hours
Omission Errors
Time Frame: pre-administration, post-administration, 2, 4 hours
The Conners Continuous Performance Test (CPT) will be used to assess sustained attention. Omission errors is measured by calculating the number of trials participants fail to push the spacebar in the presence of a letter that is not an "X" stimulus.
pre-administration, post-administration, 2, 4 hours
Reaction Time
Time Frame: pre-administration, post-administration, 2, 4 hours
The Conners Continuous Performance Test (CPT) will be used to assess sustained attention. Reaction time is measured by calculating the duration between the presentation of a letter other than "X", and the correct response of a spacebar push.
pre-administration, post-administration, 2, 4 hours
Reaction Time Standard Error
Time Frame: pre-administration, post-administration, 2, 4 hours
The Conners Continuous Performance Test (CPT) will be used to assess sustained attention. Reaction time standard error is measured by calculating the standard error of the mean of the reaction time.
pre-administration, post-administration, 2, 4 hours
Visuomotor Index
Time Frame: pre-administration, post-administration, 2, 4 hours
The visuomotor index score is calculated by mathematically integrating five measures of oculomotor fixation performance and two measures of accuracy into a single score during fixation and accuracy tasks, respectively. Test of visual fixation to measure microsaccades, spontaneous nystagmus, and gaze-evoked nystagmus.
pre-administration, post-administration, 2, 4 hours

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Saccade Speed
Time Frame: Pre-administration, post-administration, 2, 4 hours
Measures how quickly participants look back and forth between two spots as possible during the oculomotor task.
Pre-administration, post-administration, 2, 4 hours
Visually Guided Oculomotor Performance
Time Frame: Pre-administration, post-administration, 2, 4 hours
Measures how quickly and accurately participants move their eyes to a cue as soon as it appears on the oculomotor task.
Pre-administration, post-administration, 2, 4 hours
Antisaccade
Time Frame: Pre-administration, post-administration, 2, 4 hours
Measures voluntary eye movement in the direction opposite to the side in which a visual cue is presented.
Pre-administration, post-administration, 2, 4 hours
Memory-Guided
Time Frame: Pre-administration, post-administration, 2, 4 hours
Measures how quickly gaze is shifted directly and accurately to a remembered cue position.
Pre-administration, post-administration, 2, 4 hours

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.
Johns Hopkins University

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

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: Dustin C Lee, PhD, Johns Hopkins University

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 (Estimated)

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.
October 1, 2026

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.
July 1, 2027

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.
July 1, 2027

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).
April 2, 2024

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 5, 2024

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 8, 2024

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.
August 14, 2026

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.
August 12, 2026

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.
August 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

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.
  • IRB00332797
  • R21DA056687 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

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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