The Effect of SSRIs on Threat of Shock Potentiated Neural Circuitry

The Effect of SSRIs on Threat of Shock Potentiated Neural Circuitry

This study aims to increase the knowledge about psychological processes which may contribute to mental health problems such as depression and anxiety. This study aims to investigate if administering Escitalopram, an antidepressant which increases serotonin levels in parts of the brain, affects how the brain processes emotional information. It is hoped that measuring these changes will increase the understanding of processes involved in mental health problems.

INCLUSION CRITERIA

Healthy Controls:

• Fluency in English
• Registration with a UK General Practitioner
• Capacity for consent
• No personal history of long-term medical conditions or psychiatric illness (including substance dependence, assessed with the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview)

Anxious Individuals:

• Fluency in English
• Registration with a UK General Practitioner
• Capacity for consent
• Meeting criteria for generalised anxiety disorder, panic disorder and/or agoraphobia (also assessed with the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview); permitted comorbid conditions were: major depressive disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder and/or post-traumatic stress disorder

EXCLUSION CRITERIA

Healthy Controls and Anxious Individuals:

• Having consumed alcohol within 12 hours prior to the study
• having used illicit drugs within 3 months prior to the study
• Having had any contraindications to MRI scanning
• Being pregnant or breastfeeding
• Having had impaired or uncorrected vision or hearing