Emotional Processing7T FACESNCT06412315
7T Amygdala and Citalopram Study
A study testing Citalopram in people with Emotional Processing and Cognition, run by University of Oxford at 1 site in United Kingdom.
Trial summary
The goal of this study is to investigate how a common antidepressant citalopram (which increases the levels of the chemical messenger serotonin), affects how a key area of the brain involved in depression (the amygdala) responds to emotional information. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 to 40 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Emotional Processing, Cognition, Mood Disorders
- What is being tested?
- Citalopram
- Type of treatment
- Pill or oral medicine
- Could I receive a placebo?
- Yes, some participants may receive a placebo
- How many people
- 54 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited Kingdom
- Study dates
- 13 Feb 2025to 30 Apr 2027
- Phase
- Interventional
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 to 40 years
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Adult
Who may be able to join
- Participant is willing and able to give informed consent for participation in the research
- Sufficiently fluent English to understand and complete the task
Who cannot join
- Participants with ferromagnetic objects in their bodies (e.g. metal implants, vessel clips, shrapnel injuries) or with implanted devices which may be damaged by the magnet (e.g. heart pacemakers)
- Any other MRI contraindication following MRI safety screening
- History or current significant psychiatric illness (like major depressive disorder)
- Current or past diagnosis of any significant personality disorder (e.g. borderline personality disorder) according to self-report
- Diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactive disorder or autistic spectrum disorder that impairs daily functioning, requires pharmacotherapy or in the opinion of the study medic would affect the scientific integrity of the study
- Currently or within last 3 months taking psychoactive medications (requires further discussion with researcher)
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- Current or within the last 3 months use of medication that might interact with the effects of citalopram or affect the scientific integrity of the study
- Known contraindication to citalopram including: past allergic reaction to citalopram or any other medicines, diagnosis of a cardiovascular condition, glaucoma, type 1 or type 2 diabetes, diagnosis of epilepsy, previous diagnosis of angle-closure glaucoma, or current use of any other medication whose use interacts with citalopram (according to British National Formulary (BNF) guidance) e.g. associated with prolonged QT-interval
- Any other current or past medical conditions which in the opinion of the study medic may interfere with the safety of the participant or the scientific integrity of the study including epilepsy/seizures, brain injury, hepatic or renal disease, diabetes, severe gastro-intestinal problems, Central Nervous System (CNS) tumours, neurological conditions
- Clinically significant abnormal values for urine drug screen, pulse, and blood pressure measurement (in accordance with Best Practice Guidance 13: 'Non-invasive measurement of blood pressure'). A participant with a clinical abnormality or parameters outside the reference range for the population being studied may be included only if the Investigator considers that the finding is unlikely to introduce additional risk factors and will not interfere with the study procedures
- Current alcohol or substance misuse disorder
- Body Mass Index under 17 and over 35
- Pregnant or planning a pregnancy, or breast feeding
- Previously taken part in a study that used similar computer tasks (MRI faces task, emotional test battery) as those in the present study
- Participation in a study that involves the use of a psychoactive medication or brain stimulation within the last three months
- Use of recreational drugs (e.g. cannabis, cocaine, amphetamines) within last three months
- Smoking > 5 cigarettes per day, or vape a comparable amount (> 0.5ml / a quarter of a 2ml vape);
- Typically drinks > 6 caffeinated drinks per day (e.g. tea, coffee, coca cola, Red Bull)
- Participant is unlikely to comply with the clinical study protocol or is unsuitable for any other reason, in the opinion of the Investigator
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.
United Kingdom1 site, 1 recruiting
- Recruiting
University of Oxford, Department of Psychiatry
Oxford, Oxfordshire, OX37JX
About this study
Official title: The Effects of Citalopram on the Brain's Response to Faces
The goal of this study is to investigate how a common antidepressant citalopram (which increases the levels of the chemical messenger serotonin), affects how a key area of the brain involved in depression (the amygdala) responds to emotional information.
Healthy participants will undergo medical and psychiatric health screening, after which they will be assigned to receive either a single dose of citalopram (20mg) or placebo, and undergo brain scanning (7T fMRI) whilst viewing emotional faces. Since the scan uses high field strength, the investigators will be able to see effects of citalopram on different subfields within the amygdala which will help to understand how citalopram might be working.
Read the detailed description
Antidepressants typically decrease amygdala response to negative stimuli while enhancing response to positive stimuli, but it is unclear at a mechanistic level how increasing serotonin would have this opposing effect. One hypothesis is that although positive and negative cues activate the same area at a global level, more detailed characterisation may reveal key differences in processing in terms of localisation or response function. Until now, due to methodological restriction, the amygdala has been mostly studied as a single structure. It is however known that it consists of a number of subfields, which are likely to play distinct roles in emotional processing. In this study the investigators will make use of 7T fMRI scanning to study the effects of a single dose (20 mg) of citalopram (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, SSRI) on these subfields during emotional face processing, allowing greater precision to identify underlying neural mechanisms underpinning psychological effects.
- Conditions
- Emotional Processing, Cognition, Mood Disorders, Depressive Disorder, Depression
- Being tested
- Citalopram, Placebo
- Keywords
- Antidepressants, Experimental medicine, Psychopharmacology, Emotional Processing, fMRI, High field strength fMRI, 7 Tesla MRI
- Medical subject headings
- Mood Disorders, Depressive Disorder, Depression
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
CitalopramDrug
Participants will receive a single dose (20mg) citalopram. Tablets encapsulated to aid blinding. To take per oral once.
PlaceboDrug
Participants will receive a single dose of placebo (sucrose). Tablets encapsulated to aid blinding. To take per oral once
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Citalopram | Experimental | Not described Receives: Drug: Citalopram |
| Placebo | Placebo comparator | Not described Receives: Drug: Placebo |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Neural measures: fMRI BOLD univariate analysis
Blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) fMRI (region of interest (ROI) analysis amygdala) during the performance of an emotional faces task.
Differential amygdala response to fearful and happy faces.
Univariate analysis
Measured: 3 hours after dosing for approximately 1 hour
Neural measures: fMRI BOLD multivariate analysis
Blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) fMRI (region of interest (ROI) analysis amygdala) during the performance of an emotional faces task.
Amygdala response to fearful and happy faces. Multivariate pattern analysis.
Measured: 3 hours after dosing for approximately 1 hour
Secondary outcomes (2)
Behavioural measures: Accuracy during gender discrimination task
Accuracy (% correct) of gender identification will be measured to ensure participant engagement throughout the task.
Measured: 3 hours after dosing for approximately 1hour
Behavioural measures: Reaction times during gender discrimination task
Reaction times (ms) of gender identification will be measured to ensure participant engagement throughout the task.
Measured: 3 hours after dosing for approximately 1hour
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted14 May 2024
- Study start13 Feb 2025
- Primary completion30 Apr 2027 (estimated)
- Study completion30 Apr 2027 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Emotional ProcessingStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by University of OxfordThe sponsor's other registered studies.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
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
- Basic science
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Model description
- Participants will be assigned to receive citalopram or placebo. Citalopram is not being administered for treatment purposes, the purpose is to understand the mechanisms underpinning its effects (no clinical outcome measure). A double-blind randomised placebo-controlled design (27 participants in each group) will be used, with 1 single dose of citalopram (20mg) or placebo.
- Masking
- Double blind
- Who is masked
- Participant, Investigator
- Enrolment
- 54 participants (estimated)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- University of Oxford
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Catherine Harmer, University of Oxford
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT06412315
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 7T_Amygdala_Citalopram
- Acronym
- 7T FACES
- Status last verified
- Sep 2026
- First submitted
- 1 Mar 2024
- Last updated
- 2 Oct 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No