Pharmacology of human decision making – Study of the effects of ketamine on healthy volunteers (18-55) making simple perceptual decisions

This Phase IV, placebo-controlled crossover trial (n=35) will investigate the impact of ketamine on perceptual decision-making in healthy volunteers.

Participants will receive either ketamine (49mg/70kg subcutaneously) or a placebo (saline solution) in a randomised, crossover design.

Conducted by Monash University in Australia, the study aims to explore how ketamine, known for its effects on the glutamatergic system, influences key neurophysiological markers associated with decision-making processes.

The research will measure accuracy, reaction times, and decision process dynamics through EEG, alongside assessing changes in depression, anxiety, dissociation, obsessive-compulsive symptoms, life satisfaction, and fatigue via self-report questionnaires. The trial began on 14 June 2024 and is expected to complete by 1 October 2024.

Topic Anxiety Depression Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Neuroscience
Compound Ketamine Placebo
Country Australia
Visit trial
Status Recruiting
Results Published No
Start date 14 June 2024
End date 01 October 2024
Phase Phase IV
Design Blinded
Type Interventional
Generation First
Participants 35
Sex All
Age 18- 55
Therapy No

Trial Details

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.

NCT Number ACTRN12624000943549

Sponsors & Collaborators

Monash University
The Clinical Psychedelic Lab, established in 2020, within the Dept Psychiatry at Monash University is the first of its kind in Australia, leading the development and implementation of psychedelic therapies. The lab has played a central role in establishing the field of clinical psychedelic research in Australia.

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