Hormones and Decision Making

An investigation of the neuropsychological processes underlying ethical decision making.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Dyssocial Behavior
• Intervention / Treatment: Drug: testosterone propionate; Drug: 0.5% cholorbutanol, saline

Detailed Description

This study will investigate the influence of reward sensitivity on cheating behavior via experimental manipulation of reward sensitivity using testosterone.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 30
• Phase: Phase 4

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Texas
    • Austin, Texas, United States, 78712-1050
      • Robert Josephs

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 25 years (Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: Male

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• males between 18 and 25

Exclusion Criteria:

• recruitment will be limited to male participants between 18 and 25 years who have no current conditions that would preclude the use of testosterone. Specific exclusion criteria are:
• women of all ages
• males younger than 18 years and older than 25 years
• self-report discomfort with ingestion of testosterone for the purpose of this study
• body mass index lower than 18 or higher than 27
• prior diagnosis of major depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, phobia, anxiety disorder, or other psychiatric conditions
• first-degree relatives diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder
• presence of a medical condition that would preclude the use of testosterone
• use of medications that would preclude the use of testosterone
• consumption of more than 5 cigarettes a day
• current use of testosterone enhancing products, such as gels, creams, and injections

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Basic Science
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Triple

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: testosterone; 7mg testosterone propionate	Drug: testosterone propionate; 1mg/0.1mL solution, to be administered intranasally; Other Names: Testovis
Placebo Comparator: placebo; 125 mg 0.5% cholorbutanol, 50mg saline, pH5	Drug: 0.5% cholorbutanol, saline; 125 mg 0.5% cholorbutanol, 50mg saline

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Measure of ethical behavior - Cheating rate defined as the Average number of 'heads' coin flips participants claim to have obtained	drug administration following by behavioral outcome. Specifically, participants will have the opportunity to predict the outcome of a series of coin flips. To obtain a measure of ethical behavior, participants will have the opportunity to cheat by over-reporting their prediction accuracy.	90 minutes

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Texas at Austin
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Robert A Josephs, PhD, University of Texas at Austin

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): March 1, 2015
• Primary Completion (Actual): May 1, 2016
• Study Completion (Actual): September 1, 2016

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: February 9, 2015
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 28, 2021
• First Posted (Actual): April 29, 2021

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): April 29, 2021
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 28, 2021
• Last Verified: April 1, 2021

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Mental Disorders; Personality Disorders; Antisocial Personality Disorder; Physiological Effects of Drugs; Antineoplastic Agents; Hormones; Hormones, Hormone Substitutes, and Hormone Antagonists; Antineoplastic Agents, Hormonal; Androgens; Anabolic Agents; Testosterone; Methyltestosterone; Testosterone undecanoate; Testosterone enanthate; Testosterone 17 beta-cypionate
• Other Study ID Numbers: 2015-02-0011