NCT04635826

The Role of Expectancy for Cognitive Enhancement in College Students Using Prescription Stimulants Nonmedically

• Status: Withdrawn
• Phase: Phase 4
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 0 (actual)
• Sponsor: University of Alabama at Birmingham · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 30 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

We propose to evaluate the interaction between expectations of receiving stimulants, neurophysiological activity and enhancement of cognitive performance using fMRI.

Detailed description

Participants will then be randomized in a balanced placebo design (BPD) crossing medication (10 mg of mixed amphetamine salts vs placebo) and expectancy (told active medication vs placebo medication), resulting in 4 different conditions 1) mixed amphetamine salts/told stimulant medication; 2) placebo/told stimulant medication; 3) mixed amphetamine salts/told placebo; and 4) placebo/told placebo). Participants will be assigned to four scanning sessions scheduled one week apart and will experience each condition once counterbalanced across participants. Participants will be administered cognitive tasks in and out of the scanner to determine the effects of medication vs expectancy.

Conditions

• Prescription Stimulants
• Expectations
• Deception

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
DRUG	Adderall 10Mg Tablet	Participants will be administered Adderall
DRUG	Placebo	Participants will be administered placebo

Timeline

• Start date: 2025-07-01
• Primary completion: 2029-07-31
• Completion: 2030-07-31
• First posted: 2020-11-19
• Last updated: 2025-04-07

Regulatory

• FDA-regulated drug study