Neural Correlates of Stress Hormones

PTSD Clinical Trial

— Cort-fMRI  

Official title:

Why Does Cortisol Enhance Memory Retrieval in Patients With Borderline Personality Disorder and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder? Investigating the Neuronal Correlates of Cortisol Administration and the Effects of Stress Exposure

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT02523664
• Other study ID #: WI-3396-2
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: January 2014
• Est. completion date: December 2018

Study information

• Verified date: February 2019
• Source: Charite University, Berlin, Germany
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

To investigate which neuronal correlates underlie cortisol-induced enhancement of memory retrieval in PTSD and BPD.

Description:

The investigators have recently shown that hydrocortisone enhances rather than impairs memory retrieval in patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and borderline personality disorder (BPD). In contrast, in healthy participants memory retrieval was impaired after hydrocortisone compared to placebo.

The proposed studies aim to further investigate these findings and to understand the underlying neuronal correlates. Thus, the mechanisms of enhanced memory retrieval after hydrocortisone in patients with BPD and PTSD will be investigated by fMRI.

In a placebo-controlled study, the effects of 10mg hydrocortisone on brain activity, in particular the hippocampus, will be investigated in patients with PTSD and BPD and will be compared with those in healthy control participants. During the fMRI session, a declarative memory task (retrieval of a previous learned word list) and an autobiographical memory test will be performed. Effects of hydrocortisone on resting state brain activity and the neuronal correlates of memory retrieval will be analysed.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 78
• Est. completion date: December 2018
• Est. primary completion date: December 2018
• Accepts healthy volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers
• Gender: Female
• Age group: 18 Years to 40 Years

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• Clinical diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder

• Clinical diagnosis of PTSD

• females without psychiatric disorders as control group

• right handed

Exclusion Criteria:

• fMRI exclusion criteria e.g. metal implants, pregnancy, left-handedness, and claustrophobia.

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Borderline Personality Disorder
• Personality Disorders
• PTSD

Intervention

Drug:
• Hydrocortisone
effects of hydrocortisone on memory while fMRI
• Placebo

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
Germany	Charite University	Berlin

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
Charite University, Berlin, Germany

Country where clinical trial is conducted

Germany, 

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	brain activation after hydrocortisone	fMRI	20 min
Secondary	memory retrieval after hydrocortisone	Retrieval of a previous learned word list	10 minutes
Secondary	memory retrieval after hydrocortisone	autobiographic memory retrieval	20 minutes