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| Name | Class |
|---|---|
| University College, London | OTHER |
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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.
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| Label | Type | Description | Intervention Names |
|---|---|---|---|
| Healthy Control - Escitalopram | Active Comparator | Participants took 10mg escitalopram for 2-3 weeks, once daily. Escitalopram was administered in the form of a tablet, manufactured and donated for research by Lundbeck (tablet core: microcrystalline cellulose, colloidal anhydrous silica, croscarmellose sodium, talc, magnesium stearate; tablet coating: hypromellose 6cP, titanium dioxide (E171), macrogol 6000). Exact length of administration was dependent on participants' availability to attend their second scan. |
|
| Healthy Control - Placebo | Placebo Comparator | Participants took a placebo tablet for 2-3 weeks, once daily. Placebo was administered in the form of a tablet, manufactured and donated for research by Lundbeck and matching the escitalopram tablet given to the other study groups in colour and size. Exact length of administration was dependent on participants' availability to attend their second scan. |
|
| Anxious Individuals - Escitalopram | Experimental | Participants took 10mg escitalopram for 2-3 weeks, once daily. Escitalopram was administered in the form of a tablet, manufactured and donated for research by Lundbeck (tablet core: microcrystalline cellulose, colloidal anhydrous silica, croscarmellose sodium, talc, magnesium stearate; tablet coating: hypromellose 6cP, titanium dioxide (E171), macrogol 6000). Exact length of administration was dependent on participants' availability to attend their second scan. |
|
| Anxious Individuals - Placebo | Placebo Comparator |
| Name | Type | Description | Arm Group Labels | Other Names |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Escitalopram | Drug | Participants received 2-3 weeks of escitalopram. |
|
| Measure | Description | Time Frame |
|---|---|---|
| 'Aversive amplification circuit' connectivity | The engagement of the neural circuit of the amygdala, cingulate cortex and prefrontal cortex will be measured via an fMRI analysis technique called a psychophysiological interactions (PPI) analysis. PPI analysis concerns behaviour-specific increases in the relationship across regional brain activity - this means that it can allow one to assess whether two regions (a priori selected ROIs) show increased connectivity during a specific context or behaviour, suggesting a behaviour-specific increase in transfer of information. The output of this analysis will take form of a continuous beta weight - an index of connectivity across two brain regions (amygdala and medial prefrontal cortex), which represents the primary outcome of the study. | Baseline and 2-3 weeks after baseline |
| Measure | Description | Time Frame |
|---|---|---|
| Cognitive task performance: Loss/risk aversion task | Measures how averse participants are to risk and loss in a mock gambling context | Baseline and 2-3 weeks after baseline |
| Cognitive task performance: Go/no-go task |
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INCLUSION CRITERIA
Healthy Controls:
Anxious Individuals:
EXCLUSION CRITERIA
Healthy Controls and Anxious Individuals:
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| Facility | Status | City | State | ZIP | Country | Contacts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University College London | London | United Kingdom |
| PubMed Identifier | Type | Citation | Retractions |
|---|---|---|---|
| 39364684 | Result | Lukow PB, Lowther M, Pike AC, Yamamori Y, Chavanne AV, Gormley S, Aylward J, McCloud T, Goble T, Rodriguez-Sanchez J, Tuominen EW, Buehler SK, Kirk P, Robinson OJ. Amygdala activity after subchronic escitalopram administration in healthy volunteers: A pharmaco-functional magnetic resonance imaging study. J Psychopharmacol. 2024 Dec;38(12):1071-1082. doi: 10.1177/02698811241286773. Epub 2024 Oct 4. | |
| 41241072 |
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| ID | Term |
|---|---|
| D001008 | Anxiety Disorders |
| ID | Term |
|---|---|
| D001523 | Mental Disorders |
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| ID | Term |
|---|---|
| D000089983 | Escitalopram |
| ID | Term |
|---|---|
| D011437 | Propylamines |
| D000588 | Amines |
| D009930 | Organic Chemicals |
| D009570 | Nitriles |
| D001572 |
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Participants took a placebo tablet for 2-3 weeks, once daily. Placebo was administered in the form of a tablet, manufactured and donated for research by Lundbeck and matching the escitalopram tablet given to the other study groups in colour and size. Exact length of administration was dependent on participants' availability to attend their second scan.
|
| Placebo | Drug | Participants received 2-3 weeks of placebo, matched in colour and size to the escitalopram. |
|
Measures approach/avoidance behaviours under threat of shock or safe conditions
| Baseline and 2-3 weeks after baseline |
| Cognitive task performance: Facial emotional processing task | Measures brain responses to positive, negative and neutral emotions | Baseline and 2-3 weeks after baseline |
| Cognitive task performance: Emotional face recognition task | Measures brain responses during two distinct memory processes - the encoding (learning) and retrieval (remembering) of information | Baseline and 2-3 weeks after baseline |
| Cognitive task performance: Visual affective bias task | Measures biases in patients' cognition towards or away from rewarding stimuli | Baseline and 2-3 weeks after baseline |
| Regional activations during neuroimaging task: Facial emotional processing task | Measures brain responses to positive, negative and neutral emotions | Baseline and 2-3 weeks after baseline |
| Regional activations during neuroimaging task: Emotional face recognition task | Measures brain responses during two distinct memory processes - the encoding (learning) and retrieval (remembering) of information | Baseline and 2-3 weeks after baseline |
| Regional activations during neuroimaging task: Visual affective bias task | Measures biases in patients' cognition towards or away from rewarding stimuli | Baseline and 2-3 weeks after baseline |
| Clinical symptom measure: Generalised Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7) | Measures symptoms of generalised anxiety, scored between 0-21 with higher scores indicating more severe symptoms | Baseline and 2-3 weeks after baseline |
| Clinical symptom measure: State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) | Measures state and trait anxiety symptoms, scored between 20-80 with higher scores indicating more severe symptoms | Baseline and 2-3 weeks after baseline |
| Clinical symptom measures: Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) | Measures depressive symptoms, scored between 0-27 with higher scores indicating more severe symptoms | Baseline and 2-3 weeks after baseline |
| Clinical symptom measures: Beck's Depression Inventory (BDI) | Measures depressive symptoms, scored between 0-63 with higher scores indicating more severe symptoms | Baseline and 2-3 weeks after baseline |
| Clinical symptom measures: Catastrophizing questionnaire | Measures catastrophising, scored between 24-120 with higher scores indicating more severe symptoms | Baseline and 2-3 weeks after baseline |
| Clinical symptom measures: Daily Stress Inventory (DSI) | Measures frequency and impact of daily stresses. Frequency scored between 0-58 and impact scored between 0-6, with higher scores indicating more severe stress | Baseline and 2-3 weeks after baseline |
| Clinical symptom measures: Behavioural Inhibition/Behavioural Activation Scales (BIS/BAS) | Measures drive, fun-seeking, reward responsiveness and behavioural inhibition. Behavioural inhibition scored between 7-28, drive between 4-16, fun seeking between 4-16, and reward between 5-20, with higher scores indicating higher levels of those behaviours | Baseline and 2-3 weeks after baseline |
| Clinical symptom measures: Eysenck Impulsiveness Scale | Measures impulsiveness, venturesomeness and empathy. Impulsivity scored between 0-19, venturesomeness between 0-16, empathy between 0-18, with higher scores indicating higher levels of those traits | Baseline and 2-3 weeks after baseline |
| Derived |
| Lukow PB, Lowther M, Pike AC, Yamamori Y, Chavanne AV, Gormley S, Aylward J, Vera CE, McCloud T, Goble T, Rodriguez-Sanchez J, Tuominen EW, Buehler SK, Kirk P, Robinson OJ. Brain activation and connectivity after 2-3 weeks of escitalopram administration in anxiety disorders: A randomised trial. J Affect Disord. 2026 Feb 1;394(Pt B):120682. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2025.120682. Epub 2025 Nov 13. |
| Benzofurans |
| D006574 | Heterocyclic Compounds, 2-Ring |
| D000072471 | Heterocyclic Compounds, Fused-Ring |
| D006571 | Heterocyclic Compounds |