Endogenous Opioid Mechanisms for Rejection Sensitivity

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

Get a concise snapshot of the trial, including recruitment status, study phase, enrollment targets, and key timeline milestones.

Recruitment Status

COMPLETED

Total Enrollment

114 participants

Study Classification

OBSERVATIONAL

Study Start Date

2016-08-31

Study Completion Date

2019-06-06

Brief Summary

Review the sponsor-provided synopsis that highlights what the study is about and why it is being conducted.

This project hypothesizes that the brain's opioid system determines rejection sensitivity, a personality trait that is a vulnerability factor and feature of several psychiatric disorders. This project will use positron emission tomography to measure the brain's opioid response to social rejection and acceptance in a nonclinical population with varying levels of rejection sensitivity. The results will provide the first major step towards understanding a neurotransmitter mechanism for rejection sensitivity, allowing for further investigation into predicting and treating its associated disorders.

Related Clinical Trials

Explore similar clinical trials based on study characteristics and research focus.

Neuronal Responses to Social Feedback in Major Depressive Disorder

NCT02180607

Major Depressive Disorder

COMPLETED

Stress Sensitivity and Reward Responsivity in Depression

NCT02798094

Depressed

COMPLETED

Model-based Defining of Subtypes of Depression and Optimal Treatment: an Integrated Techniques Module.

NCT04518592

Major Depressive Disorder

RECRUITING

Behavioral Processes Underlying Reward Processing in Depression

NCT00205933

Major Depressive Disorder Bipolar Disorder

COMPLETED

Study of the Neural Circuits Underlying the Negative Emotional Bias of Depressive Disorders and Their Response to Ketamine

NCT06630065

Depressive Disorder

RECRUITING NA

Detailed Description

Dive into the extended narrative that explains the scientific background, objectives, and procedures in greater depth.

Humans depend on acceptance into groups and intimate relationships for survival and emotional well-being. Actual or perceived threats to this need such as social rejection (when one is not wanted or liked) can lead to marked changes in mood and behavior such as sadness, social withdrawal, and impulsivity. The experience of severe or repeated social rejection in those who are rejection sensitive is a strong contributor to psychiatric disorders such as major depressive, social anxiety, and personality disorders. The neurotransmitter mechanisms underlying rejection sensitivity (RS) are not known.

It has been known for over 30 years in nonhuman animals that the endogenous opioid system, particularly the µ-opioid receptor (MOR) system, regulates social distress and social reward behaviors. Using positron emission tomography, we recently showed that social rejection and acceptance produced robust MOR-mediated neurotransmission in specific brain areas, which correlated with changes in mood and behavior. This study was the first to show that the endogenous opioid system responds to social cues in humans. The proposed project will examine the MOR system in the clinically important trait of RS. Since the neurotransmitter mechanisms of RS are unknown, we seek to first understand the basic neurobiology of RS in a healthy population, prior to studying clinical populations.

The overall hypothesis is that RS is associated with MOR function. Those with higher RS compared to lower RS are hypothesized to have overall lower MOR activation during social rejection and acceptance, leading to greater distress and dampened pro-social behavior. Numerous animal studies have also established that the MOR system is strongly influenced by harmful social environments. Therefore, we will also examine the role of childhood maltreatment (CM), a negative early life experience known to be one of the highest risk factors for developing depression and anxiety. The goal of this project is to determine how RS and CM interact to determine patterns of MOR binding during baseline, social rejection, and social acceptance in a healthy population. We will also examine how RS, mediated through MOR activation, influences mood and behavior.

The impact of this research is to provide the first major step towards understanding a neurotransmitter mechanism for RS, with the long-term goal of predicting and treating its associated disorders.

Conditions

See the medical conditions and disease areas that this research is targeting or investigating.

Rejection Sensitivity

Study Design

Understand how the trial is structured, including allocation methods, masking strategies, primary purpose, and other design elements.

Observational Model Type

CASE_ONLY

Study Time Perspective

CROSS_SECTIONAL

Study Groups

Review each arm or cohort in the study, along with the interventions and objectives associated with them.

Healthy Controls

Healthy men and women ages 18-25 years

No interventions assigned to this group

Eligibility Criteria

Check the participation requirements, including inclusion and exclusion rules, age limits, and whether healthy volunteers are accepted.

Inclusion Criteria

* Men and women age 18-25 (inclusive)
* Right-handed
* Native English speaker
* Not currently in a romantic relationship
* Willing and able to participate in a PET scan

Exclusion Criteria

* Not on hormonal birth control
* Not pregnant
* Consume less than 5 cigarettes per week and less than 14 alcoholic drinks per week, on average
* No use of recreational or street drugs in the past two years (e.g. marijuana)
* Willing to abstain from alcohol and/or tobacco for 48 hours
* No major untreated medical problems
* Never diagnosed with a psychiatric or neurological disorder
* Potential problems with having an MRI scan (claustrophobia, metal objects, etc.)

Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

25 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes