Understanding How Opioids Affect the Experiential and Neural Signatures of Social Experiences

Launched by SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY · Aug 13, 2021

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

This clinical trial is studying how a medication called naltrexone affects people's feelings of social connection and their brain activity when they interact socially. Participants will take either naltrexone or a placebo (a pill with no active ingredients) for a week. Each day, they will report their mood and feelings of connection with others and fill out a questionnaire about any physical symptoms they might experience. At the end of the week, participants will undergo an MRI scan to observe their brain activity while performing tasks that encourage social connection.

To join this study, participants should be healthy adults between the ages of 65 and 91 who can speak English and have a smartphone. They must also be willing to provide contact information for a few close friends or family members and share photos of them. However, those with certain medical conditions, mental health issues, or who are taking specific medications, among other criteria, may not be eligible. Overall, this study aims to better understand how opioids influence our social experiences and how we feel connected to others.

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• Inclusion Criteria:
• • good health
• • English fluency
• • willing to provide contact information for 4-6 close others
• • willing to provide digital photographs of 2 close others
• • own a smartphone
• Exclusion Criteria:
• • presence of medical devices, implants, or other metal objects in or on the body that cannot be removed
• • tattooed eyeliner
• • a body habitus prohibiting MRI scanning
• • claustrophobia
• • self-reported chronic mental or physical illness
• • current and regular use of prescription medication
• • previous history of having difficulty taking pills
• • current use of opioid analgesics
• • depressive symptoms above a 9 on Patient Health Questionnaire
• • excessive alcohol use
• • positive urine drug test
• • body mass index (BMI) greater than 35
• • pregnancy or plans to become pregnant in next 6 months
• • positive urine pregnancy test