Behavioural and physiological measures of the effects of norepinephrine on adapting to change

Completed

Conditions: geen
healthy volunteers
none

Registration Number: NL-OMON38317

Lead Sponsor: Vrije Universiteit

Brief Summary: Not available

Detailed Description: Not available

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status: Completed

Sex: Not specified

Target Recruitment: 32

Inclusion Criteria

personality questionnaire filled out
18-30 years old
informed consent
normal intelligence

Exclusion Criteria

diagnosis of psychopathology
disease affecting brain function, such as epilepsy
smoking or self-reported drug abuse
use of medication, in particular antidepressants
pregnancy
history of heart disease
hypertension

Study & Design

Study Type: Observational non invasive

Study Design: Not specified

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
<p>Outcome parameters are: behavioral measures of the von Restorff effect, the<br /><br>novelty preference and the learning rate in a reinforcement-learning framework;<br /><br>and non-invasive electrophysiological measures in the form of event-related<br /><br>potentials. Our hypothesis is that Atomoxetine will lead to strengthened<br /><br>novelty responses, namely: higher amplitudes in the P3a and N2 components, a<br /><br>stronger von Restorff effect when evaluated with a bimodal (visual and<br /><br>auditory) task, higher novelty preference when tested with a visual paired<br /><br>comparison task, and higher learning rates. </p><br>

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
<p>Novelty-related personality traits using the TPQ questionnaire and the baseline<br /><br>memory span of the participants, and trait anxiety as estimated with the STAI<br /><br>personality test.<br /><br><br /><br>Polymorphisms of the following seven genes affecting the noradrenergic system:<br /><br>NET, DBH and COMT, and the alpha-1, alpha-2, beta-1, beta-2 adrenergic receptor<br /><br>genes.</p><br>