Clinical trial NCT00205946: The Effects of Acute Administration of Bupropion on Neural Substrates Underlying Hedonic Capacity
Official title: The Effects of Acute Administration of Bupropion on Neural Substrates Underlying Hedonic Capacity
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: PHASE1
Conditions: Major Depressive Disorder
Keywords: Reward Processing
Wellbutrin
Bupropion
Lead sponsor: Affective Neuroscience Laboratory
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: Massachusetts General Hospital
First posted: 2005-09-21
Enrollment: 32
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Maximum age (years): 64
Standard ages: ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: CROSSOVER
Primary purpose: TREATMENT

Brief summary: The purpose of the study is to evaluate the effects of a single-dose of Wellbutrin XL (bupropion hydrochloride) on reward processing.

Detailed description: A cardinal feature of Major Depressive Disorder is anhedonia, which is a lack of pleasure in normally enjoyable activities. In order to understand reward processing in depressed individuals it is also necessary to study reward processing in people who are not depressed. Bupropion, the active drug in the anti-depressant Wellbutrin XL, has been shown to increase brain reward functioning in animals. The goal of the present study is to investigate the effects of Wellbutrin XL administered to psychiatrically healthy individuals as they perform a computer task known to assess reward processing.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Absence of medical, neurological, and psychiatric illness (including alcohol and substance abuse)
* Non-Smoker
* Right-handed (Chapman and Chapman 1987)
* Ability to provide informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

* Predisposition to seizure (e.g. family history of a seizure disorder, history of head trauma) or current use of medications that lower the seizure threshold
* History or current diagnosis of anorexia or bulimia
* Alcohol or substance abuse within the past year
* Current usage of Wellbutrin or Zyban or other drugs that contain bupropion
* Recent discontinuation of alcohol or sedatives (including benzodiazepines)
* Use of (in the last 2 weeks) medications that may have antidepressant properties (ex. some herbal supplements)
* Known allergies to bupropion
* Currently lactating, pregnant or believe you are likely to be pregnant (enrolled subjects who are not using reliable contraception and have engaged in sexual intercourse since their last menstrual period will be given a self-administered pregnancy test.)
* Left-handed/ambidextrous
* Evidence of neurological illness
* Serious suicide or homicide risk

Concomitant medications other than those listed in the exclusion criteria will be considered on an individual basis. Oral contraceptives will be allowed.

Primary outcomes:
measure: Whether an acute dose of bupropion vs. placebo differentially affects the neurobiology and behavior of reward processing in depressed participants.
timeFrame: 1 day
Secondary outcomes:
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Boston
country: United States
facility: The Depression Clinical and Research Program, Massachusetts General Hospital
state: Massachusetts
city: Cambridge
country: United States
facility: Affective Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Harvard University
state: Massachusetts
Study officials:
affiliation: Harvard University
name: Diego A Pizzagalli, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References: