Principal Investigator left institution.

No studies to date have examined the effects of pregnenolone on hypervigilance for social threat in individuals with perceived social isolation (PSI). We therefore are conducting a double-blind randomized research study combining three validated behavioral paradigms on social threat attention, perception of others, and emotion regulation with high-density electrical neuroimaging to probe the neuro-circuitry of social threat processing in young adults high in perceived social isolation two hours after the oral administration of 175mg pregnenolone (N = 24), 400mg of pregnenolone (N = 24), or placebo (N = 24). Such research has the potential to yield important insights into the neurobehavioral mechanisms of pregnenolone on hypervigilance for social threat and perception of others--- a first key step toward the development of adjunctive pregnenolone therapy in individuals with PSI.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Age 21-80
• At least a score of 42 on the UCLA Loneliness scale.
• Right handed
• Normal or corrected eye sight

Exclusion Criteria:

• Medical history of cancer
• Steroid use
• Psychotropic drugs
• History of heart irregularities
• Have a counter indication to EEG
• Age <21 or >32
• Score less than 42 on UCLA loneliness scale
• Left handed
• Meet MINI criteria for anything but untreated major depressive disorder
• Uncorrected vision
• Current or past neurological disorder including epilepsy or traumatic brain injury
• Have a counter indication to electrical neuroimaging
• Under hormonal therapy (including, but not limited to, testosterone)
• Unstable mental illness
• History of bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, or psychotic disorder
• Current or recent (past 3 months) substance use or dependence
• Currently taking any medications that may have unfavorable interactions with pregnenolone

No data was collected or analyzed

All-Cause Mortality, Serious, and Other [Not Including Serious] Adverse Events were not monitored/assessed

All-Cause Mortality, Serious, and Other [Not Including Serious] Adverse Events were not monitored/assessed