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Fluoxetine on Emotional Experience (FLEX) Study

Sponsor: University of Oxford

NCT ID: NCT07424781

View on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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
Fluoxetine (drug), Placebo (drug)
How long the study runs
Study runs about 14 months (dates as stated)
About the drug or intervention
Fluoxetine — drug: Participants will receive 20mg of fluoxetine daily for 7 days. · Placebo — drug: Participants will receive one dose placebo (sucrose) daily for 7 days.
Patient visit burden
Not specified by the sponsor
Type of study
Testing a treatment
Ages
18 Years to 24 Years
Who
All
Number of participants
80
Started
2025-10-01
Last checked
2025-09

Plain English Summary

What is this study?

  • • Testing a new treatment for depression - major depressive disorder
  • • NA - 80 participants
  • • The goal of this clinical medicine study is to investigate how does antidepressant fluoxetine modulate anger processing in healthy young people

Who can take part?

  • • Ages 18 Years to 24 Years
  • • Diagnosed with depression - major depressive disorder

Where?

  • • Oxford - Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford

This is a simplified summary. Always discuss with your doctor before making any decisions.

About This Trial

The goal of this clinical medicine study is to investigate how does antidepressant fluoxetine modulate anger processing in healthy young people . The main questions it aims is to answer are: 1. How does fluoxetine affect responses to anger-related stimuli such as words, faces, and autobiographical recall? 2. How does fluoxetine influence responses during frustration induction in frustrative non-reward and threat paradigms? 3. Does the effect manifest in physiological markers, including heart rate variability and facial expressions? Researchers will compare fluoxetine to a placebo to see if drug fluoxetine affects anger processing. Participants will: Take 20mg fluoxetine or a placebo every day for 7 days. Visit the university site for questionnaire and tasks assessments. Heart rate variability and facial expressions will be recorded in some of the tasks.

Depression - Major Depressive DisorderIrritabilityDepression

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What we know so far

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Still need:

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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 - 24 Years
  • Who can join: All genders

What the study is looking for

  • ✓Be aged 18-24 years (inclusive)
  • ✓Be resident in the UK for the duration of the study
  • ✓Have normal or corrected to normal vision
  • ✓Participant is willing and able to give agreement to take part for participation in the research
  • ✓Sufficiently fluent English to understand and complete the study

Who cannot take part

  • ✗The participant may not enter the study if ANY of the following apply:
  • ✗Psychiatric History:
  • ✗First degree relative with a diagnosis of mania;
  • ✗Lifestyle:
  • ✗Heavy smoker or vaper (\> 10 cigarettes per day, or \>2 mL e-liquid, or \>15mg/day from a nicotine patch);
See the full criteria
Inclusion Criteria: * Be aged 18-24 years (inclusive) * Be resident in the UK for the duration of the study * Have normal or corrected to normal vision * Participant is willing and able to give informed consent for participation in the research * Sufficiently fluent English to understand and complete the study Exclusion Criteria: The participant may not enter the study if ANY of the following apply: Psychiatric History: * Current or past diagnosis of any psychiatric disorder, as determined by the Structured Clinical Interview for the DSM-5 (SCID-5) and self-report. This includes, but is not limited to, depression, anxiety disorders, alcohol or drug dependency, personality disorders, suicidal ideation, and other psychiatric conditions; * First degree relative with a diagnosis of mania; Lifestyle: * Heavy smoker or vaper (\> 10 cigarettes per day, or \>2 mL e-liquid, or \>15mg/day from a nicotine patch); * Heavy use of caffeine (drink \> 4 of 250ml cups/cans of coffee or energy drinks per day); * Heavy drinker (drink \>14 standard alcoholic drinks per week); * Current or recent use (in the last 3 months) of any psychoactive substance according to self-report and a urine drug test screening for recent use of 10 common recreational substances; Physical Health: * Severely underweight or overweight in a manner that renders them unsuitable for the study in the opinion of the study medical advisor; * Known contraindication to fluoxetine, such as hypersensitivity to fluoxetine or any component in its formulation; * Pregnancy, as determined by a urine pregnancy test or plans to become pregnant within the next 3 months; * Breastfeeding; * Not able to consume gelatine; Medical History: * Past or ongoing health issue which, in the opinion of the study medical advisor, may interfere with the safety of the participant or the scientific integrity of the study, including but not limited to: seizures or epilepsy, heart rhythm problem, renal disease, hepatic disease, glaucoma, diabetes, bleeding disorders or clotting conditions (e.g., haemophilia, thrombocytopenia); * Diagnosis of a significant neurological condition (e.g., epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, traumatic brain injury). * Diagnosis of a neurodevelopmental condition, such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD); * Current or recent use of medication that might interfere or interact with the effects of fluoxetine, in the opinion of the study medical advisor, including but not limited to: monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs), medications affecting serotonin levels (e.g., tramadol, triptans, St. John's Wort), anticoagulants or blood thinners (e.g., warfarin), anti-inflammatory medications (e.g., aspirin, ibuprofen), or medications known to affect heart rhythm; Prior Study Participation: * Participation in any other psychological or medical experiment involving taking any kind of drug/medication/vaccine, within the last 3 months; * Participation in any other study involving the current or similar tasks, within the last 6 months; Others •Any other significant finding which may arise during the screening process and which, in the opinion of the Principal Investigator/medical advisor, may influence the scientific integrity of the study, or the participant's ability to participate in the study.

Where Is This Study? (1 UK site)

Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford

Oxford OX3 7JX, United Kingdom

Recruiting
Site contact (verified)

How to Get in Touch

Catherine Harmer, PhD

Sponsor contact

CONTACT

+441865 618326 catherine.harmer@psych.ox.ac.uk

Ye Wo, MSc

Sponsor contact

CONTACT

+447564300004 ye.wo@psych.ox.ac.uk
Data sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov · Last verified: 2025-09