View clinical trials related to Cognitive Function.
Filter by:The purpose of this study is to assess the relationship between bupropion, stimulant use and relapse, ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), and measures of mood, drug craving, and inhibitory control in individuals enrolled in inpatient treatment for stimulant-use disorder with and without ADHD. The experimenters hypothesize that Bupropion and Contrave (Bupropion/Naltrexone) will increase inhibitory control and decrease drug craving and depressive symptoms in recently abstinent stimulant users in inpatient treatment with effects greater than those seen in recently abstinent stimulant users completing inpatient treatment as usual. An additional hypothesis is that relapse rates after leaving inpatient treatment in the group receiving bupropion will be lower than those of the group completing inpatient treatment as usual. The study design consists of four assessments of drug craving, inhibitory control, impulsive choice, and mood (depression and anxiety). The timepoints for these assessments include: A. baseline after entering treatment B. 2 weeks after starting drug C. 8 weeks after starting drug, and D. 1 month after leaving treatment. Following eligibility screening, 60 stimulant users will be enrolled in one of 3 groups. Group 1 Bupropion Active Group: 20 subjects will receive bupropion for 8 weeks during inpatient treatment. Group 2 Contrave Active Group: 20 subjects will receive Contrave for 8 weeks during inpatient treatment. Group 3 Control Group: 20 subjects enrolled in inpatient treatment will complete treatment as usual as well as the four assessments (A-D) described above but will not receive drug (convenience control). Half of the subjects in each group will be diagnosed with ADHD and half will not, for a total of 10 subjects per group with ADHD.
Deficits in emotional cognitive control are present in a number of clinical psychiatric populations including depression, anxiety, and PTSD. Deficits in this domain of function limit one's ability to focus attention on goal-directed activities while inhibiting reactions to irrelevant emotional stimuli, and this contributes to the symptoms of these disorders and makes individuals less likely to be successful in existing treatments. The left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (LDLPFC) and its connectivity with other regions (i.e., dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, ventromedial prefrontal cortex, insula, amygdala) is thought to play a central role in facilitating emotional cognitive control. However, past research has primarily utilized correlational approaches that limit conclusions about the directionality of these relationships. Enhancing our understanding of the neural underpinnings of emotional cognitive control could be valuable for informing treatment for populations with deficits in these processes, such as adults with PTSD. The current study utilizes a neuromodulatory approach called real-time functional magnetic resonance imaging neurofeedback (rtfMRI-nf) whereby participants observe their own neural activity in the moment and are taught to self-regulate this activity. Adult volunteers, who have been diagnosed with PTSD, will be trained to increase neural activity in LDLPFC while involved in mental tasks involving emotional cognitive control processes. The mental tasks will include counting, remembering words, or planning events while viewing negatively-valenced emotional words (e.g., kill, death, threat). Participants in this study will complete a non-randomized LDLPFC rtfMRI-nf protocol to assess tolerability and feasibility of the protocol in a clinical population of interest. Resting-state fMRI scans and behavioral testing sessions will take place before and after rtfMRI-nf. The specific aims are to examine the impact of LDLPFC rtfMRI-nf on: (1) LDLPFC activity during emotional cognitive control, (2) LDLPFC functional connectivity with other brain regions during rest, and (3) cognitive control task performance. As this study is meant to be preliminary, the target sample size is not powered to detect statistical significance for these measures. However, effect size estimates will be calculated to provide potential justification for future work with this protocol in this clinical population. To these ends, this study will use rtfMRI-nf to examine preliminary evidence of a novel protocol to regulate LDLPFC activity in adults diagnosed with PTSD. This research will improve our understanding of emotional cognitive control and demonstrate whether this is a modifiable target for intervention in this clinical population of interest.
The purpose of this grant is to evaluate the efficacy of sodium butyrate as a novel treatment for cognitive deficits in schizophrenia (SZ). The proposal consists of a small preliminary open label study to assess tolerability and side effects of sodium butyrate in schizophrenic patients receiving antipsychotic treatment, followed by a larger double-blind study of the effects of sodium butyrate on cognitive function and symptoms in SZ patients who are not in an acute exacerbation of the primary symptoms and show continued cognitive deficits. Secondary aims will be to evaluate its effects on improving symptoms and functioning in SZ, and the relationship of the drug's clinical effects to epigenetic and inflammation related biochemical changes.