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Trial registered on ANZCTR


Registration number
ACTRN12624000943549
Ethics application status
Approved
Date submitted
21/06/2024
Date registered
5/08/2024
Date last updated
8/09/2024
Date data sharing statement initially provided
5/08/2024
Type of registration
Retrospectively registered

Titles & IDs
Public title
Pharmacology of human decision making - Study of the effects of ketamine on healthy volunteers (18-55) making simple perceptual decisions
Scientific title
Pharmacology of human decision making (Phase 4 placebo-controlled ketamine hydrochloride study with healthy volunteers (18-55) targeting glutamatergic activity during perceptual decision making)
Secondary ID [1] 311693 0
Nil known
Universal Trial Number (UTN)
U1111-1305-2231
Trial acronym
PhD
Linked study record

Health condition
Health condition(s) or problem(s) studied:
Cognitive function 333159 0
Condition category
Condition code
Neurological 329854 329854 0 0
Studies of the normal brain and nervous system

Intervention/exposure
Study type
Interventional
Description of intervention(s) / exposure
Ketamine injection - we will administer a single subcutaneous abdominal injection of ketamine hydrochloride, achieving a concentration of 0.7 mg/kg. As the intervention is a single injection, supervised by the study physician, no additional adherence monitoring is needed. There will be a one week washout period between active/placebo testing sessions.
Intervention code [1] 328157 0
Treatment: Drugs
Comparator / control treatment
In a placebo condition, participants will receive an abdominal injection, but this will be a saline solution of equivalent volume to the ketamine injection.
Control group
Placebo

Outcomes
Primary outcome [1] 337629 0
Accuracy on the decision task
Timepoint [1] 337629 0
Accuracy will be recorded as participants complete the decision making task on each of the three testing sessions (baseline, active/placebo session 1, active/placebo session 2). The decision task, which will begin 10 minutes after administration, lasts 40 minutes.
Primary outcome [2] 337631 0
Reaction times on the decision task
Timepoint [2] 337631 0
Reaction times will be recorded as participants complete the decision making task on each of the three testing sessions (baseline, active/placebo session 1, active/placebo session 2). The decision task, which will begin 10 minutes after administration, lasts 40 minutes.
Primary outcome [3] 338773 0
Decision process dynamics
Timepoint [3] 338773 0
EEG will be recorded as participants complete the decision making task during each of the three testing sessions (baseline, active/placebo session 1, active/placebo session 2). The decision task, which will begin 10 minutes after administration, lasts 40 minutes.
Secondary outcome [1] 432583 0
Depression
Timepoint [1] 432583 0
The baseline questionnaire will be completed at any time in advance of the baseline testing session. The pre- and post-testing questionnaires will be completed upon arrival (approx. 1 hour before starting the task) and immediately after completing the task on each of the testing days (baseline, active/placebo session 1, and active/placebo session 2). Participants will complete a final pre-testing questionnaire 1 week after participation in the final testing session.
Secondary outcome [2] 437396 0
Anxiety
Timepoint [2] 437396 0
The baseline questionnaire will be completed at any time in advance of the baseline testing session. The pre- and post-testing questionnaires will be completed upon arrival (approx. 1 hour before starting the task) and immediately after completing the task on each of the testing days (baseline, active/placebo session 1, and active/placebo session 2). Participants will complete a final pre-testing questionnaire 1 week after participation in the final testing session.
Secondary outcome [3] 437399 0
Dissociation
Timepoint [3] 437399 0
The baseline questionnaire will be completed at any time in advance of the baseline testing session. The pre- and post-testing questionnaires will be completed upon arrival (approx. 1 hour before starting the task) and immediately after completing the task on each of the testing days (baseline, active/placebo session 1, and active/placebo session 2). Participants will complete a final pre-testing questionnaire 1 week after participation in the final testing session.
Secondary outcome [4] 437401 0
Obsessive-compulsive symptoms
Timepoint [4] 437401 0
The baseline questionnaire will be completed at any time in advance of the baseline testing session. The pre-testing questionnaires will be completed upon arrival (approx. 1 hour before starting the task) on each of the testing days (baseline, active/placebo session 1, and active/placebo session 2). Participants will complete a final pre-testing questionnaire 1 week after participation in the final testing session.
Secondary outcome [5] 437402 0
Life satisfaction/general wellbeing
Timepoint [5] 437402 0
The post-testing questionnaires will be completed immediately after completing the task on each of the testing days (baseline, active/placebo session 1, and active/placebo session 2).
Secondary outcome [6] 437403 0
Fatigue
Timepoint [6] 437403 0
The pre- and post-testing questionnaires will be completed upon arrival (approx. 1 hour before starting the task) and immediately after completing the task on each of the testing days (baseline, active/placebo session 1, and active/placebo session 2).

Eligibility
Key inclusion criteria
Aged 18-55

Right-handed

Normal or corrected-to-normal vision (glasses and contact lenses are ok)

No knowledge of any reason why they should not be given ketamine
Minimum age
18 Years
Maximum age
55 Years
Sex
Both males and females
Can healthy volunteers participate?
Yes
Key exclusion criteria
Any cardiac conditions or history of high blood pressure

Assessed as having any contraindication to ketamine by our study physician

Assessed as suffering from a psychiatric disorder (according to DSM-V criteria) by our study physician

History of epilepsy

Females not on hormonal contraception

Pregnant or currently breastfeeding

Personal history of psychiatric or neurological illness

Family history of psychotic illness

Report any previous usage of antipsychotic or stimulant medication

History of significant* drug use
*'Significant' defined as (i) use of any illicit substances within the last 6 months; (ii) >5 lifetime intake of any illicit drug, except cannabis; (iii) more than monthly cannabis intake in the last 6 months

Current smoker or have smoked more than 5 cigarettes per week in their lifetime

Dependent on alcohol and consume more than 24 units/week

Currently taking any of the following substances: St. John's Wort, rifampin, grapefruit juice, clarithromycin

Study design
Purpose of the study
Educational / counselling / training
Allocation to intervention
Randomised controlled trial
Procedure for enrolling a subject and allocating the treatment (allocation concealment procedures)
Allocation to treatment schedules will be handled by a third party using a computerised randomisation script. That person will not involved in any stage of recruitment. The randomised schedule will be sent to the clinical pharmacy that prepare the doses, but will not seen by any member of the research team. The research team will remain blinded until the final participant has completed their last testing session.
Methods used to generate the sequence in which subjects will be randomised (sequence generation)
A randomisation code will be generated by a third-party using computer software and supplied to the clinical pharmacy supplying the doses. The code randomly assigns participants to one of two schedules (placebo -> active or active -> placebo) using their participant ID code. The code also ensures there is an even ratio of participants assigned to each schedule. The research team will only receive the randomisation code for analysis after data collection is complete.
Masking / blinding
Blinded (masking used)
Who is / are masked / blinded?
The people receiving the treatment/s
The people administering the treatment/s
The people assessing the outcomes
Intervention assignment
Crossover
Other design features
Phase
Phase 4
Type of endpoint/s
Statistical methods / analysis

Recruitment
Recruitment status
Recruiting
Date of first participant enrolment
Anticipated
Actual
14/06/2024
Date of last participant enrolment
Anticipated
17/10/2024
Actual
Date of last data collection
Anticipated
31/10/2024
Actual
Sample size
Target
35
Accrual to date
24
Final
Recruitment in Australia
Recruitment state(s)
VIC

Funding & Sponsors
Funding source category [1] 316022 0
University
Name [1] 316022 0
Monash University
Country [1] 316022 0
Australia
Primary sponsor type
University
Name
Monash University
Address
Country
Australia
Secondary sponsor category [1] 318174 0
None
Name [1] 318174 0
Address [1] 318174 0
Country [1] 318174 0

Ethics approval
Ethics application status
Approved
Ethics committee name [1] 314845 0
Monash University Human Research Ethics Committee
Ethics committee address [1] 314845 0
https://www.monash.edu/researchoffice/ethics
Ethics committee country [1] 314845 0
Australia
Date submitted for ethics approval [1] 314845 0
22/02/2024
Approval date [1] 314845 0
28/02/2024
Ethics approval number [1] 314845 0
37698

Summary
Brief summary
Perceptual decision making is a fundamental cognitive process whereby sensory information is converted into meaningful perceptual interpretations of the environment for action. At a synaptic-level, the components of the decision process rely on a complex neuropharmacology, but the specific role of signalling pathways in supporting perceptual decisions is not well understood. Ketamine disrupts the brain's primary excitatory neurotransmitter, glutamate, by blocking glutamate receptors. This project will investigate the neuropharmacological basis of perceptual decisions by characterising the impact of glutamate challenge on key electrophysiological signatures of the decision process.
Trial website
Trial related presentations / publications
Public notes

Contacts
Principal investigator
Name 132906 0
Prof Mark Bellgrove
Address 132906 0
School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Room 540, 18 Innovation Walk, Clayton Campus, Clayton, VIC 3800
Country 132906 0
Australia
Phone 132906 0
+61 3 9902 4200
Fax 132906 0
Email 132906 0
[email protected]
Contact person for public queries
Name 132907 0
Mark Bellgrove
Address 132907 0
School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Room 540, 18 Innovation Walk, Clayton Campus, Clayton, VIC 3800
Country 132907 0
Australia
Phone 132907 0
+61 3 9902 4200
Fax 132907 0
Email 132907 0
[email protected]
Contact person for scientific queries
Name 132908 0
Mark Bellgrove
Address 132908 0
School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Room 540, 18 Innovation Walk, Clayton Campus, Clayton, VIC 3800
Country 132908 0
Australia
Phone 132908 0
+61 3 9902 4200
Fax 132908 0
Email 132908 0
[email protected]

Data sharing statement
Will individual participant data (IPD) for this trial be available (including data dictionaries)?
Yes
What data in particular will be shared?
De-identified behavioural and electrophysiological data
When will data be available (start and end dates)?
The data will be uploaded to an open science repository as part of the publication process
Available to whom?
Open science repositories are accessible to anyone
Available for what types of analyses?
Access is not contingent on an analysis plan
How or where can data be obtained?
The data will be accessible via the Open Science Framework (OSF; https://osf.io/).


What supporting documents are/will be available?

No Supporting Document Provided



Results publications and other study-related documents

Documents added manually
No documents have been uploaded by study researchers.

Documents added automatically
No additional documents have been identified.