At a glance
- What the study gets you
- Access to the study treatment being tested
- Type of study
- Interventional (receives a drug or procedure)
- Time in hospital
- In-person visits at study sites — visit count not specified by the sponsor
- Drug or intervention
- Citalopram (drug), Placebo (drug)
- How long the study runs
- Study runs about 26 months (dates as stated)
- About the drug or intervention
- Citalopram — drug: Participants will receive a single dose (20mg) citalopram. · Placebo — drug: Participants will receive a single dose of placebo (sucrose).
- Patient visit burden
- Not specified by the sponsor
- Type of study
- Testing a treatment
- Ages
- 18 Years to 40 Years
- Who
- All
- Number of participants
- 54
- Started
- 2025-02-13
- Last checked
- 2026-09
Plain English Summary
What is this study?
- • Testing a new treatment for emotional processing
- • NA - 54 participants
- • The goal of this study is to investigate how a common antidepressant citalopram (which increases the levels of the chemical messenger serotonin), affects how a key area of the brain involved in depression (the amygdala) responds to emotional information
Who can take part?
- • Ages 18 Years to 40 Years
- • Diagnosed with emotional processing
Where?
- • Oxford - University of Oxford, Department of Psychiatry
This is a simplified summary. Always discuss with your doctor before making any decisions.
About This Trial
The goal of this study is to investigate how a common antidepressant citalopram (which increases the levels of the chemical messenger serotonin), affects how a key area of the brain involved in depression (the amygdala) responds to emotional information. Healthy participants will undergo medical and psychiatric health screening, after which they will be assigned to receive either a single dose of citalopram (20mg) or placebo, and undergo brain scanning (7T fMRI) whilst viewing emotional faces. Since the scan uses high field strength, the investigators will be able to see effects of citalopram on different subfields within the amygdala which will help to understand how citalopram might be working.
More detail
Antidepressants typically decrease amygdala response to negative stimuli while enhancing response to positive stimuli, but it is unclear at a mechanistic level how increasing serotonin would have this opposing effect. One hypothesis is that although positive and negative cues activate the same area at a global level, more detailed characterisation may reveal key differences in processing in terms of localisation or response function. Until now, due to methodological restriction, the amygdala has been mostly studied as a single structure. It is however known that it consists of a number of subfields, which are likely to play distinct roles in emotional processing. In this study the investigators will make use of 7T fMRI scanning to study the effects of a single dose (20 mg) of citalopram (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, SSRI) on these subfields during emotional face processing, allowing greater precision to identify underlying neural mechanisms underpinning psychological effects.
How this trial compares with your answers
Answer 2 more questions to improve match
What we know so far
Still need:
- • Tell us your age for better matching
- • Tell us your sex for better matching
Preliminary match based on your answers. Full eligibility requires on-site assessment including medical history, physical exam, and lab tests. This does not guarantee enrolment.
Eligibility at a Glance
Key info
- Age: 18 Years - 40 Years
- Who can join: All genders
What the study is looking for
- ✓Participant is willing and able to give agreement to take part for participation in the research
- ✓Sufficiently fluent English to understand and complete the task
Who cannot take part
- ✗Participants with ferromagnetic objects in their bodies (e.g. metal implants, vessel clips, shrapnel injuries) or...
- ✗Any other MRI safety concern following MRI safety screening
- ✗History or current significant psychiatric illness (like major depressive disorder)
- ✗Current or past diagnosis of any significant personality disorder (e.g. borderline personality disorder) according...
- ✗Currently or within last 3 months taking psychoactive medications (requires further discussion with researcher)
See the full criteria
Where Is This Study? (1 UK site)
University of Oxford, Department of Psychiatry
Oxford OX37JX, United Kingdom
How to Get in Touch
Marieke AG Martens, DPhil
Sponsor contactCONTACT
Catherine J Harmer, DPhil
Sponsor contactCONTACT
