NCT01512316

Exploring Learning and Unlearning of Fear

The Effect of D-cycloserine on Fear Learning and Extinction

• Status: Withdrawn
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 0 (actual)
• Sponsor: Universitaire Ziekenhuizen KU Leuven · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 40 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

The present study investigates the effect of d-cycloserine on learning and unlearning of fear in healthy humans and its underlying effect on the amygdala. As a second objective, the effect of genotype on fear learning will be studied.

Detailed description

A growing body of evidence suggests that the extinction of fear is mediated by the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor activity in the basolateral amygdala. Intra-amygdala infusions of antagonists of this glutamate receptor in small animals (eg: rats, mice) have demonstrated a blockage of fear acquisition and extinction. Agonists, on the other hand, facilitate conditioned fear extinction. The animal studies are all based on the simple fear learning paradigm of conditioning. However, it is not clear that human anxiety disorders are based on prior conditioning encounter. Therefore it is important to disentangle the effect of DCS on acquisition and extinction in the context of a simple learning paradigm, particular its effect on the human amygdala.

Conditions

• Healthy Individuals

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
DRUG	d-Cycloserine	250mg, one dose, 2hrs prior to fMRI
DRUG	Lactose pill	one dose, 2hrs prior to fmri
GENETIC	Saliva sample	Buccal cell material will be sampled from all participants on day3
OTHER	Functional neuroimaging (fMRI)

Timeline

• First posted: 2012-01-19
• Last updated: 2023-01-31

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Belgium