Clinical trial: Cannabinoid Control of Fear Extinction Neural Circuits in Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (NCT02069366)

Eligibility criteria:
Inclusion Criteria for All Participants:

          -  Able to give informed consent

          -  Physically and neurologically healthy [confirmed by a comprehensive medical history]

          -  Age between 21-45 years old

          -  Right-handed

        Inclusion Criteria for Participants with PTSD:

          -  Current PTSD diagnosis [related to civilian trauma]

        Inclusion Criteria for Trauma-Exposed Participants without PTSD:

          -  Experience with a civilian trauma without a PTSD diagnosis

          -  Free of a lifetime Axis I or Axis II diagnosis

        Inclusion Criteria for Non-Trauma-Exposed Healthy Participants:

          -  Free of a lifetime Axis I or Axis II diagnosis

        Exclusion Criteria for All Participants:

          -  Clinically significant medical or neurological condition

          -  Less than a high school education

          -  Lack of fluency in English

          -  Night shift work

          -  Currently pregnant; planning pregnancy; or lactating

          -  Unwilling/unable to sign informed consent document

          -  Inability to tolerate small, enclosed spaces without anxiety (e.g. claustrophobia)

          -  Left-handed

          -  Presence of ferrous-containing metals within the body (e.g., aneurysm clips,
             shrapnel/retained particles)

          -  Under 21 or over 45 years of age

          -  Anticipation of a required drug test in the 4 weeks following study participation

          -  Positive urine drug screen and/or alcohol breathalyzer

          -  Current or past allergic or adverse reaction or known sensitivity to cannabinoid-like
             substances [dronabinol/marijuana/cannabis/thc, cannabinoid oil, sesame oil, gelatin,
             glycerin, and titanium dioxide]

          -  Participation in an experiment involving white noise bursts or shocks in the last 6
             months

        Exclusion Criteria for Participants with PTSD:

          -  Primary comorbid anxiety disorder (defined by which disorder was the more debilitating
             and clinically salient)

          -  Life history of bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, or presence of an organic mental
             syndrome, mental retardation, or pervasive developmental disorder

          -  Current or in the past 6 months alcohol/drug abuse of dependence

          -  Current or in the past 6 months major depressive disorder

          -  Current suicidal ideation

          -  Diagnosis of an Axis II personality disorder

          -  Concomitant treatments with psychotropic/psychoactive medication [including
             beta-adrenergic blockers, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI),
             benzodiazepines, tricyclic or monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI) antidepressants,
             lithium, antiepileptic/anticonvulsants, neuroleptics/antipsychotics, etc.) or in the
             past two weeks [8 weeks for fluoxetine and 4 weeks for MAOIs) before screening (Visit
             1)

          -  currently receiving exposure-based therapy for PTSD

        Exclusion Criteria for Trauma-Exposed Participants without PTSD and Non-Trauma Exposed
        Healthy Participants:

          -  Current or past Axis I psychiatric disorder [including alcohol/substance abuse of
             dependence disorder]
No condition on gender to be admitted to the trial.
Accepts Healthy Volunteers
Subject must be at least 21 Years old.
Subject must be at most 45 Years

Patient description (medical language): A 19-year-old girl comes to the clinic due to a left wrist mass.  She noticed swelling on the top of her wrist about 4 months ago and came to the clinic due to cosmetic concerns.  Examination shows a nontender, rounded mass on the dorsal wrist that transilluminates with a penlight. Vital signs are normal. The patient needs to type on her computer almost all day. She is left-handed. She does not smoke or use illicit drugs. She is in sexual relationship with two male partners and uses condoms.

Patient description (patient's own words): I'm a 19-year-old girl and I went to see my doctor because of a mass on my left wrist. I noticed a swelling on top of my wrist, like 4 months ago, and I went the first time to the doctor because it was pretty ugly! My wrist was not tender, and the mass was round and let the light go through when the doctor used a penlight. My blood pressure, breathing and temperature were normal. I'm left-handed and I need to be on my PC all day. I don't smoke or do drugs. I'm sexually active and I have 2 male partners but they all use condoms.

Does the patient match the trial criteria? 0