The Effects of Losartan on Attention Control: An Eye-tracking Study

The main aim of the present study is to investigate the effects of orally administered Losartan on bottom-up and top-down attentional control to socio-emotional stimuli by combining a validated saccade/antisaccade eye-tracking paradigm with a randomized between-subject placebo-controlled pharmacological trial design.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Healthy
• Intervention / Treatment: Drug: Losartan; Drug: Placebo

Detailed Description

Animal models and initial findings in humans suggest that the angiotensin II antagonist Losartan may have neuroprotective effects and could potentially enhance cognitive functions, including valence-specific attention and regulatory control. Within this context the present study aims to examine whether angiotensin II blockade via Losartan modulates top-down and bottom-up attentional control towards socio-affective stimuli. To this end, healthy individuals will undergo a double-blind, between-subjects, placebo-controlled pharmaco-eye-tracking experiment and receive a single oral dose of Losartan (50 mg) or placebo before performing a saccade/anti-saccade task 90 minutes after administration. The task paradigm will encompass social (happy, angry, fearful, sad and neutral faces) and non-social (oval) stimuli to examine general as well as social and emotion-specific effects of oral losartan.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 80
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Weihua Zhao, Dr; Phone Number: 86-28-61830811; Email: zarazhao.uestc@outlook.com

Study Locations

• China
  • Sichuan
    • Chengdu, Sichuan, China, 611731
      • Recruiting
      • University of Electronic Science and Technology of China
      • Contact: Weihua Zhao, Dr; Phone Number: 86-28-61830811; Email: zarazhao.uestc@outlook.com

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

Healthy subjects who volunteer to participate and are able to fully understand and agree with this study by written informed consent.

Normal or corrected-normal version

Exclusion Criteria:

• History of neuropsychiatric diseases.
• History of cardiac disease, including arrhythmias, aortic stenosis, or congestive heart failure; history of syncope or unexplained loss of consciousness.
• History of hepatic diseases, including cholestasis, biliary obstructive disease, or severe liver dysfunction.
• History of renal diseases, including renal stones or renal failure.
• History of hyponatremia(Serum sodium <135mmol/L) or hyperkalemia (Serum potassium>5.5mmol/L); history of diabetes mellitus or diabetes insipidus
• Known hypersensitivity or allergic reaction to any medication or hormone; strong allergic reaction to food.
• Infections such as COVID-19 or influenza, or unexplained fever.
• Subjects with hypertension (BP ≥130/80mmHg) or hypotension (BP ≤ 90/60mmHg).
• History of alcohol or drug abuse; smoker (≥ 10 cigarettes or ≥ 3 cigars or ≥ 3 pipes/day); smoker using e-cigarettes.
• Blood donation (≤ 1 month prior to administration).
• Take oral contraceptives or receive hormonal medications in the three months prior to the experiment.
• Pregnant or breastfeeding.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

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

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Losartan group; Losartan tablet(50 mg)	Drug: Losartan; Administration of Losartan tablets(50 mg); Other Names: Cozaar
Placebo Comparator: Placebo group; Placebo tablet	Drug: Placebo; Administration of Placebo tablets; Other Names: Placebo treatment

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Saccade/antisaccade latency difference between social and non-social stimuli after losartan administration	Comparison between social-specific saccade/antisaccade latencies (in milliseconds) between the losartan and placebo treatment conditions.	90 minutes - 120 minutes after treatment
Error rate of saccade/antisaccade for social versus non-social stimuli after losartan administration	Comparison between social-specific error rates of saccade/antisaccade between the losartan and placebo treatment conditions.	90 minutes - 120minutes after treatment

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Saccade/antisaccade latency for different facial emotions after losartan administration	Comparison between emotion-specific saccade/antisaccade latencies (in milliseconds) between the losartan and placebo treatment conditions.	90 minutes - 120 minutes after treatment
Error rate of saccade/antisaccade for different facial emotions after losartan administration	Comparison between emotion-specific saccade/antisaccade error rates between the losartan and placebo treatment conditions.	90 minutes - 120 minutes after treatment

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Electronic Science and Technology of China
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Benjamin Becker, Dr, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): March 5, 2024
• Primary Completion (Estimated): June 1, 2025
• Study Completion (Estimated): July 30, 2025

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: March 15, 2024
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 15, 2024
• First Posted (Actual): March 25, 2024

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): April 11, 2024
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 9, 2024
• Last Verified: April 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Losartan; Eye-tracking
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Molecular Mechanisms of Pharmacological Action; Anti-Arrhythmia Agents; Antihypertensive Agents; Angiotensin II Type 1 Receptor Blockers; Angiotensin Receptor Antagonists; Losartan
• Other Study ID Numbers: BAM_lab_eyetracking_02

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No