AzTrials
AzTrials

CaffeineNCT02461693

Evaluating the Role of Expectations in Response to Caffeine Consumption: An RCT

A study testing Caffeine in people with Caffeine and Affect, run by University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Completed

Finished. The study has ended and is not enrolling. Results may be posted on the official record.

Official record
Search all trials

Trial summary

The purpose of this project is to examine the effect of expectancy on mood and alertness after consumption of caffeine "treatment" or placebo "control" pill, given that participants know their probability for receiving the caffeine versus placebo pill. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 18 years and olderHealthy volunteers can take part
Conditions the study is for
Caffeine, Affect, Cognitive Ability, General
What is being tested?
Caffeine
Type of treatment
Pill or oral medicine
Could I receive a placebo?
Yes, some participants may receive a placebo
How many people
205 participants
Where
No sites listed yet
Study dates
Jun 2015to Oct 2015
Phase
Interventional
Are there results?
Yes, posted in the registrySummary in the doctors' view

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 18 years and older
  • All sexes
  • Healthy volunteers accepted
  • Adult, Older adult

Who may be able to join

  • 18 years-old or older
  • available to participate on the dates specified
  • willing to take a caffeine or placebo pills at study session
  • willingness to abstain from caffeine for 12 hours prior to study visit (8:30pm-8:30am)
  • UAB employees or students with some college education (including current enrollment)

Who cannot join

  • self-reported use of ADHD medication
  • self-reported use of anxiety medication
  • self-reported use of sleep medication
  • self-reported use of nicotine products
  • self-reported lactose intolerance
  • self-reported uncorrected vision
  • self-reported pregnancy or trying to become pregnant

About this study

Official title: Evaluating the Role of Expectations in Response to Caffeine Consumption: A Randomized Control Trial

The purpose of this project is to examine the effect of expectancy on mood and alertness after consumption of caffeine "treatment" or placebo "control" pill, given that participants know their probability for receiving the caffeine versus placebo pill. Participants will be randomly assigned a probability (ranging from 0-100%) of receiving caffeine vs. placebo, and this probability will be revealed to them before consumption of the assigned pill and subsequent cognitive testing. At the time of consumption, neither study staff administering the intervention nor participants will know for certain which pill is given to each participant. Pill assignment will depend on pre-determined randomization probabilities, which will be provided and assigned by the study statistician. By revealing participants' individual probability of receiving the caffeine pill, we will induce positive or negative expectancies regarding likelihood for receipt of the caffeine pill. These experimental manipulations will: 1) estimate the effect of expectancy on cognitive and affective outcomes, and 2) allow for a more direct estimate of the effect of the caffeine pill under real-world conditions than would a conventional randomized trial.

Being tested
Caffeine, Placebo
Keywords
Vigilance, Mood, Randomized Controlled Trial, Probability

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • CaffeineDrug

    200mg delivered as pill; one-time dose

  • PlaceboDrug

    Lactose-based pill; one-time dose

Study groups in NCT02461693
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
CaffeineExperimentalOne-time treatment with 200mg caffeine pill
Receives: Drug: Caffeine
PlaceboPlacebo comparatorOne-time treatment with lactose-based placebo pill
Receives: Drug: Placebo

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Mood State Score on POMS-2 Test

    Profile of Mood States (POMS-2)- "Volunteers rated a series of 65 mood-related adjectives with regard to how they were feeling "right now" on a scale of 0 (not at all) to 4 (extremely). The adjectives factor into six mood sub-scales: Tension-Anxiety; Depression-Dejection; Anger-Hostility; Vigor-Activity; Fatigue-Inertia; Confusion-Bewilderment and a Total Mood Disturbance score which aggregates the six sub-scales into a single variable." - from our publication. The minimum and maximum possible raw scores were: 0 and 40 for Tension-Anxiety, 0 and 52 for Depression-Dejection, 0 and 44 for Anger-Hostility, 0 and 36 for Vigor-Aactivity, 0 and 24 for Fatigue-Inertia, 0 and 40 for Confusion-Bewilderment, -36 and 200 for Total Mood Disturbance, and 0 and 24 for Friendliness. For Friendliness and Vigor-Activity, the more positively a person feels, the higher the score. For all other sub-scales and Total Mood Disturbance, the more negatively a person feels, the higher the score.

    Measured: 30 minutes post pill consumption

  2. Vigilance Score on Computer-based Test Using Random, Visual Stimulus: Proportion Correct (Out of 60)

    Scanning Visual Vigilance Test. "This test assesses vigilance, ability to sustain attention during long, boring, continuous tasks that generate minimal cognitive load (Fine et al, 1994; Lieberman et al, 1998; 2002). The volunteer continuously scans a computer screen to detect an infrequent, difficult-to-detect stimulus that appears at random intervals and locations for 2 s. On average, a stimulus was presented once per minute. Upon detection of the stimulus, the volunteer pressed the space bar as rapidly as possible. Whether a stimulus was detected and time required for detection was recorded. Responses before or after stimulus occurrence were false alarms. The test lasted 60 minutes." - from our publication

    Measured: 45 to 105 minutes post pill consumption

  3. Vigilance Score on Computer-based Test Using Random, Visual Stimulus: Number Correct, Number of False Alarm Hits

    Scanning Visual Vigilance Test. "This test assesses vigilance, ability to sustain attention during long, boring, continuous tasks that generate minimal cognitive load (Fine et al, 1994; Lieberman et al, 1998; 2002). The volunteer continuously scans a computer screen to detect an infrequent, difficult-to-detect stimulus that appears at random intervals and locations for 2 s. On average, a stimulus was presented once per minute. Upon detection of the stimulus, the volunteer pressed the space bar as rapidly as possible. Whether a stimulus was detected and time required for detection was recorded. Responses before or after stimulus occurrence were false alarms. The test lasted 60 minutes." - from our publication

    Measured: 45 to 105 minutes post pill consumption

  4. Vigilance Score on Computer-based Test Using Random, Visual Stimulus: Mean Time to a Correct Hit

    Scanning Visual Vigilance Test. "This test assesses vigilance, ability to sustain attention during long, boring, continuous tasks that generate minimal cognitive load (Fine et al, 1994; Lieberman et al, 1998; 2002). The volunteer continuously scans a computer screen to detect an infrequent, difficult-to-detect stimulus that appears at random intervals and locations for 2 s. On average, a stimulus was presented once per minute. Upon detection of the stimulus, the volunteer pressed the space bar as rapidly as possible. Whether a stimulus was detected and time required for detection was recorded. Responses before or after stimulus occurrence were false alarms. The test lasted 60 minutes." - from our publication

    Measured: 45 to 105 minutes post pill consumption

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted3 Jun 2015 (estimated)
  2. Study startJun 2015
  3. Primary completionOct 2015
  4. Study completionOct 2015

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase N/A
Primary purpose
Other
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Parallel groups
Masking
Double blind
Who is masked
Participant, Investigator
Enrolment
205 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT02461693
Sponsor's protocol ID
F150410009
Status last verified
Jun 2017
First submitted
1 Jun 2015
Last updated
12 Jul 2017
Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated device
No
Individual data sharing
Yes: Raw de-identified data will be posted as a replication data set on ICPSR after publication of results in a journal. Data will be free to download and accessible to anyone with access to ICPSR replication data sets.

Publications

  • George BJ, Li P, Lieberman HR, Pavela G, Brown AW, Fontaine KR, Jeansonne MM, Dutton GR, Idigo AJ, Parman MA, Rubin DB, Allison DB. Randomization to randomization probability: Estimating treatment effects under actual conditions of use. Psychol Methods. 2018 Jun;23(2):337-350. doi: 10.1037/met0000138. Epub 2017 Apr 13.

    PubMed 28406674

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing Caffeine in people with Caffeine and Affect, run by University of Alabama at Birmingham.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 5 inclusion and 7 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 12 Jul 2017. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. Some participants in this study may receive a placebo. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

Yes. Results are posted in the registry (first posted 12 Jul 2017). A summary is in the For doctors view, and the full results are on ClinicalTrials.gov.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Mood State Score on POMS-2 Test (time frame: 30 minutes post pill consumption). The study lists 4 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?

On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT02461693, which also lists 1 linked publication.

Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 12 Jul 2017.

Free account

Log in to keep searching

You’ve used your 3 free searches. AzTrials is free: log in or create a free account to keep searching clinical trials and save the ones you want to follow.

Create a free accountLog in