NCT06329076

Losartan Modulates Neural Responses to Looming Visual Stimuli: An Eye-tracking Study

• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 80 (estimated)
• Sponsor: University of Electronic Science and Technology of China · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 40 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

The main aim of the present study is to investigate the effects of orally administered losartan on the perception of time-to-collision of threatening and non-threatening stimuli by combining a validated looming fear eye-tracking paradigm with a randomized between-subject placebo-controlled pharmacological trial design.

Detailed description

Animal models and initial findings in humans suggest a role of the angiotensin II antagonist losartan in socio- emotional processes. At the same time, the visual system's remarkable ability to perceive and interpret impending threats, notably through the "looming" phenomenon- a distinct pattern of optical expansion on the retina as objects approach, theoretically allows for precise estimation of the time-to-collision (TTC). It was demonstrated that the affective content of looming stimuli influences perceived TTC, with threatening objects judged as approaching sooner than non-threatening objects, hinting at a nuanced interaction between emotional valence and temporal perception. Within this context the present study aims to examine whether angiotensin II blockade via Losartan modulates the perception of time-to-collision towards threatening and non-threatening stimuli. To this end, healthy individuals will undergo a double-blind, between-subjects, placebo-controlled pharmaco-eye-tracking experiment and receive a single oral dose of losartan (50 mg) or placebo before performing a looming fear task 90 minutes after administration. The task paradigm will encompass threatening (butterfly, rabbit) and non-social (spider, snake) stimuli to examine the emotion-specific effects of losartan.

Conditions

• Healthy

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
DRUG	Losartan	Administration of losartan tablets (50 mg)
DRUG	Placebo	Administration of placebo tablets

Timeline

• Start date: 2024-03-05
• Primary completion: 2025-06-01
• Completion: 2025-07-30
• First posted: 2024-03-25
• Last updated: 2024-04-11

Locations

1 site across 1 country: China