NCT06982183

The Effects of Propranolol, Hydrocortisone, and Morphine on Military-Relevant Performance Outcomes

The Effects of Propranolol, Hydrocortisone, and Morphine on Military-Relevant Performance Outcomes: A Randomized, Blinded, Placebo Controlled Study

• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: Phase 4
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 110 (estimated)
• Sponsor: Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) · Federal
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 40 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

This clinical trial aims to evaluate the nature and duration of effects of three FDA-approved medications (propranolol, hydrocortisone, and morphine) on military-relevant cognitive, emotional, and motor performance following an exposure to a stressful situation (i.e., exposure to a tarantula) in physically healthy adult volunteers (aged 18 - 40) with fear of spiders to help the future development of medications for treating Acute Stress Reactions. The main questions this study aims to answer are: Will placebo treatment (oral placebo) result in significant decrements in Psychomotor Vigilance Task (PVT) performance compared to propranolol treatment? Will placebo treatment \[intramuscular (IM) placebo\] result in significant decrements in PVT performance compared to hydrocortisone treatment? Will placebo treatment (IM placebo) result in significant decrements in PVT performance compared to morphine treatment? Participants will receive one of five study medications (oral propranolol, oral placebo, IM hydrocortisone, IM morphine, or IM morphine) after a brief exposure to a tarantula. Participants will complete cognitive and simple motor tasks and psychological assessments before and after the study medication administration.

Conditions

• Fear of Spiders
• Acute Stress Reaction

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
DRUG	Propranolol	An administration of a 40-mg propranolol capsule immediately after tarantula exposure
DRUG	Hydrocortisone	An intramuscular administration of 62.5 mg/1 ml of hydrocortisone immediately after tarantula exposure
DRUG	Morphine	An intramuscular administration of 5 mg/1 ml of morphine immediately after tarantula exposure
DRUG	Placebo (oral)	An administration of a placebo capsule after tarantula exposure
DRUG	Placebo (IM)	An intramuscular administration of 1 ml of saline immediately after tarantula exposure

Timeline

• Start date: 2025-05-27
• Primary completion: 2026-09-01
• Completion: 2026-09-01
• First posted: 2025-05-21
• Last updated: 2025-07-15

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States

Regulatory

• FDA-regulated drug study